Method in the Madness
by Beyond'sXBloodyXLawliet
Summary: Remus is a poor East Ender looking for work, on one fateful day he meets Sirius Black, the owner of the Black Funeral Parlor in Victorian England. Little does Remus know that this notorious Black has a dark secret that drags him down and might be the end of them both. Not to mention that Sirius is wanted for his 'skill' by a cult called the "Death Eaters". Victorian AU
1. Chapter 1

Method in the Madness

Summary:Remus is a poor East Ender looking for work, on one fateful day he meets Sirius Black, the owner of the Black Funeral Parlor in Victorian England. Little does Remus know that this notorious Black has a dark secret that drags him down and might be the end of them both. Not to mention that Sirius is wanted for his 'skill' by a cult called the "Death Eaters". Victorian AU

A/N: This story is VERY dark, bullying, murder, and a lot of other unsavory things! So please, if it offends you then don't read my story!

XxX

_An eerie light slithered through the curtains like a poisonous snake, it radiated from the dark walls and seemed to shimmer. Stormy gray eyes watched the enchanting moonlight with little interest, his eyes roved lazily on the seen before him. The moth-eaten curtains were familiar to him, as was the paintings on the walls of long dead relatives. Never had it occurred to him that this room in particular was 'creepy', it was home to him, but to other people he figured that maybe the ambiance would be a little too much.  
The next thing he let his eyes drift over to was a mass on the stone floor. It rose in tune with its raspy breathing, it was turned away from him in a fetal position so he could not tell if it was conscious or not. His hand drifted to his knife, the metal glinted in the moonlight with sinister intent and he admired it for a moment._

"Are you awake?" He questioned quietly, listening for the slightest change in breathing. The quite rasping stilled for what seemed like an eternity before he got any reply.  
"W-Why am I here?" A trembling voice piped up, Sirius sighed and got to his feet. His footsteps seemed to echo in the small room, it's stone flooring improving the ambiance of the situation. He greatly relished in the sound and was grateful that he had fought tooth and nail in favor of keeping this room free from carpeting of any sort.

"I do believe I am here to ask the questions, my good sir...What was your name again?" He stopped in front of the window, at first facing it but then turning to see his silhouette against the stone.  
"M-My name is...William Ramsay...I'd aught think you know of my name..." He said nervously from his place on the ground, Sirius could hear him squirming.

"Ah, yes...How rude of me to forget! William Ramsay...A very infamous Tax Collector, am I not correct?" Sirius wasn't a fan of dallying around and nearly always cut to the chase. Especially when he was dealing with 'business'.

"I-I do my job at that is all that is needed of me...I am a God-fearing man." Ramsay spat out, forgetting for a moment whose rules he was playing by. In response, Sirius slammed his boot down and knelt before the restrained man, grabbing his graying hair roughly.

"I did not ask you if you were a 'God-fearing man', I don't care about who or what you fear. Right now your main priority should be me, not God!" Ramsay whimpered in response, pleading with mud brown eyes to be let go.

"_I've heard that around the East End of London you have been...Less than pious in you endeavors to steal every mans money. Resorting to threatening and stealing, accepting requests from the whores even though you have a wife and children at home!" Sirius let the statement hang in the air, letting the paling man stir in his own self-pity.  
"I've watched you, William Ramsay, not because I hold any...Special interest in you, but because I've wondered if I should judge you for your sins against us," Sirius fiddled with his knife again and held it up to the light. It glinted dangerously, and Ramsay's eyes grew as big as the expensive tea saucers that Mrs. Black served her tea on._

"I've seen every brothel you've been in, every child and women you've hit, and every man you have intimidated with fear. I believe it is safe to say that you," he traced the tip of the knife lazily on Ramsay's porky hand, "deserve to die." Ramsay's eyes began to water and tears leaked from terrified eyes.

"Please! Never again, I swear!" He howled in terror, squirming like a pig whom had one of its limbs taken off. Sirius smiled at him idly, pricking the man to spook him even more.

"I know this sounds terribly dry, but any last words William Ramsay?" The dark-haired youth chuckled mirthlessly.  
"Only God can judge me...Not the Devil incarnate himself." At this Sirius's façade hardened considerably, as did the atmosphere in the room.

"God you say? Well, that is a laugh, I must say. However, you shouldn't speak such harsh words about the next entity you are going to be meeting, besides me." With that said, Sirius looked at the window and cursed when he noticed that the moon was making it's descent downward. This had taken too long and it was going to put him behind schedule, if it came to the worst he would be caught by his own family members. That was something that he wanted to avoid most of all.

He turned back to the whimpering mass of a man that was huddled on the stone floor. He chuckled once more and slashed at the man's throat. Shredding apart his jugular with several arcs of his knife, he couldn't help but admire the beauty of it all. It was like his steel extension was a paintbrush that was only used for different shades of passionate red and crimson.

_Such beautiful warm paints that flowed out of a human's body, he wasn't one of those quacks who only went on and on about the beauties of paintings, wine, and women, he truly appreciated the beauty of one's life. It was only when a person disregarded that beauty of life, that Sirius felt that he needed to take action against such sinners._

He looked upon his work, smiling proudly when he saw the spatters of crimson that had spilled out. Though, his smile fell when he realized he had to clean all of it up. Sighing to himself, annoyed that he let himself get carried away again, he began to clean up by dragging the body silently to the basement.  
In the basement, there was a rather large oven that had just enough room for a human body. He scrunched up the corpse into the cramped space and searched around for the lamp they kept down there. He finally found it, and without time to spare he lit it and tossed it into the oven along with wood, shutting the door and locking it.

Sighing in relief, he padded upstairs to the kitchen and placed on a black apron that he used for work to hide his bloodied clothes. He grabbed a bucket and filled it water from the family well and began to clean the room up. When the room was successfully clean (and the water in the bucket was crimson itself), he opened the window and emptied it in the rose bushes below.

He took a moment to stare at the roses, blossoming quite beautifully, he wondered if it was from the almost daily watering or if it was from the added 'minerals' in the water. Shrugging to himself, he shut the window and headed off to his room. He changed into his night wear and collapsed upon the bed in exhaustion.

"I really need to get my priorities straight..." He yawned out and rested his head among the pillows, he only had a few hours before he had to wake up and go to work at the Funeral Home just down the street.

"Sirius Orion Black! You need to wake up and drag your worthless body downstairs!" His mother screamed up the stairs, the house being as big as it was, needlessly to say her voice echoed.

Sirius groaned and turned over, smashing his pillow over his head to keep out the woman's scratchy voice. Even through the pillow he could hear the doorknob turning, he grinned when he heard it open completely and the padding of tiny feet.

"ROAR!" He leaped out and grabbed his tiny brother and tickled him, the nine-year old laughed gleefully and tried to get away from his older brother.

"S-Sirius st-stop!" Regulus shrieked, trying to slap Sirius's hands.  
"That's what you get when you mess with me in the morning Reg!" He laughed and put his younger brother down, messing up his hair affectionately.

"Come on, I think mum is going to kill us if we don't go down for breakfast!" Instead of heeding his older brother's advice, Regulus threw himself down on the bed and raised his arms expectantly. Sirius faked a groan and picked him up.

"You are going to get too heavy for me to pick up, Reg..." Sirius grunted and pouted when his younger copy smacked him playfully on the head.  
"'M not fat Sirius!" The elder just patted his head and sat him down on a chair, taking the one opposite of him. Mrs. Walburga Black was seated beside him and was drinking her breakfast tea as refined as any other English Noble. Both of Sirius's parents were of Noble lineage, however, their line was one of the lesser known noble families. Not to say they were poor, far from it in fact! Sirius could never work a day in his life and still have money left over for a grand estate in the country if he wanted to. Besides, if Buckingham Palace suddenly exploded Sirius and his brother would find themselves as princes of England.

"Sirius, have you thought about what we talked about?" His father, Orion Black, asked curtly. He seated himself at the head of the table, staring down his son with gray unforgiving eyes.  
"Not really, I just don't see myself as the...'marrying' type." He said offhandedly, expecting his fingernails in favor of looking his father in the face.

"What?!" Mrs. Black snapped, looking up from her tea with a disapproving glare. Sirius shrugged in response.  
"I don't have my own home, nor a carriage, nor anything a woman could want..." He listed off, grabbing a piece of toast that the serving girl laid out for them.  
"We can buy you a home, a carriage, and anything you would need." Walburga spat, putting down her delicate tea cup.  
"Fine, the real problem is...Well...I don't want to get married...I want to work and I want to...Do whatever I want!" He dared look up, seeing the red face of his father and the frightened face of his brother.  
"You, Sirius, have a duty to this family. That duty, is to produce an heir to the Black name. If you do not then we do not need you in this family." Mr. Black said in a businesslike manner, drinking his tea calmly. Sirius sighed and got up from the table, sending a secret smile to his younger brother.

"Well, I'm opening up the shop early today...I have a feeling some new customers are coming in this afternoon." He called over his shoulder, hiding his expression from his family. The devilish smirk would possibly tip off his parents, they'd been warned about the mysterious disappearances taking London by storm.

He chuckled to himself and unlocked the door to his family's shop, switching the sign as he passed the window. He turned his back to the door and bent over to get an urn off of the ground.  
The bell above the door jingled and the teen straightened up, putting on his most charming and innocent smile. He turned around and greeted his newest customer.

_XxX_

_A/N: Long time no see guys! Well, I've worked through my personal problems and some other things...Anyway, I got rid of some of my other stories since I probably wasn't going to work on them again, sorry! I hope you enjoyed this, dear reader! Until next time~  
Note: Sorry for the random changes in Font, I'll fix that in my other chapters, for some reason it ended up messed up DX_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello again~ Enjoy Dear Reader~  
Disclaimer: I forgot this I think, I don't own anything! I'm on FF for Pete's sake!

XxX

His eyes cracked open, bleary and wincing under the harsh light of the morning. His mother's hacking coughs had woken him once again, he wondered if there was ever a morning where the aching and painful sounding coughing wasn't his alarm clock. Turning over, he threw the moth-eaten blanket off of himself and he prepared the tea for his mother.

Once it was done, he poured it and made his way to the only separate room in the house besides the bathroom. His mother was a frail looking thing, brown wispy hair framed her sickly face and she looked like she was going to wither away.

"I've brought your tea, mum." The brunette boy chimed cheerfully, hiding the sadness in his amber eyes. His mother smiled and held out her hands, she took the chipped cup from him gratefully and drank it.

"I'm going to look for a job today so I-we can afford you medicines..." Remus explained, taking the drained cup and setting it down on the nightstand.

"You're still too young Remus..." She trailed off into body shaking coughs, doubling over from the exertion of it all. Remus rubbed her back reassuringly, trying his hardest to keep his touches gently.  
He helped her lay down when the coughing fit subsided, making sure she was comfortable.

"I'm just about old enough to get a job as a newspaper boy or a sweeper at a barbers. The neighbor's daughter is going to be checking up on you, I hope you don't mind." He added as an afterthought, she nodded and closed her eyes. To Remus's relief he heard her snore just a few minutes later, he hung his head and covered his mouth.

Even though he wished differently with all his might, he couldn't fight the truth that his mother had only a little time left on this Earth with him. Her sickness was too far gone and untreated, medicine at this stage would do little but ease her pain. However, Remus promised himself that he would do whatever it took to make sure his mother was comfortable, if he couldn't nurse her back to health, then making sure she was at ease when she passed was good enough.

On quick feet, the brunette scurried out of the flat and into the crowded streets of London's East End, the air was smoggy from the factories just down the way, but the day held so many possibilities that Remus's spirits couldn't be down for much longer.

The day was almost spent, and Remus's dark mood had returned. Every single employer had turned him down stating that he was too young to do the labor, not one had even considered giving him a chance.

"Oi! Rat!" Despite himself, Remus's head shot up and swiveled around to owner of the voice. A rather large boy if sixteen or seventeen was standing before him, a sneer fixed upon his face.

"Ah...Do I...Know you?" The brunette questioned hesitantly, refusing to look at the boy in his dirt brown eyes.  
"Me know you? Don't make me laugh!" The boy grabbed him by his collar and yanked him up so high that Remus's feet hovered a few inches above the ground.

"Listen and listen good kid, you don't have a right to look for a job here. Other hardworking people need jobs more than you do, so stop being a bloody pest and go back home to mummy!" He shoved Remus down and was about to punch him until something grabbed his arm.

"That's enough kid, you're scarin' away customers." The boy turned around and gulped.  
"S-Sorry Master Black..." He offered an awkward bow and bolted away.

"Sorry about that kid, these...Children seem to think that they own this neighborhood these days..." He sighed and helped the younger up, dusting him off as well.  
"So, I hear ya need a job..." He opened the door to his shop and beckoned the younger to come inside, Remus did and flinched when he noticed it was a funeral parlor.

"Ah? Oh...Well, I hope you don't mind...This." He gestured at the room sheepishly, Remus stared at everything. The coffins that were lined against the wall for show, the comfy looking appointment area where Remus guessed that Mr. Black talked to his clients, he was not surprised to see that everything was draped in dark colors. Dark reds, greens, and blacks were all around the room, from curtains to rugs and the occasional silver tapestry and candelabras. Even though to him it was rather extravagant, he supposed that to Mr. Black's usual clientele it was very simple but classy.

"No-Not at all...I think it's really nice looking...Sir." He added as an afterthought. Sirius smiled and looked around for a broom or any object that could be used for cleaning.  
"I can assure you that you won't be around the...Clients. I just need somebody to dust the urns and keep this place looking decent. I usually don't have the time." Sirius explained and finally gave up his search for the broom.

"Looks like we'll have to buy one..." He grumbled and flipped the sign on the door.  
"Be here in the morning at noon, we'll get lunch and visit the shoppes. Not only do I need a broom, but if you're going to work for me, you need to look decent as well." Sirius peered at him and plucked the smaller boy's sleeve, feeling the textured clothe disapprovingly.

"I...I don't have...money..." Remus averted his eyes with a blush, the barking laughter of his new employer took him by surprise.  
"Company expenses." He waved it off and patted the younger on his head.

"Now, get home and get some sleep. This place is filthy so you'll be on your feet quite a lot tomorrow!" The older patted him on the back and sent him on his way.  
It wasn't until the younger was halfway home that he realized what just happened. He had finally gotten a job! He could finally pay for his mother's medication! Remus smiled brightly and walked with a skip to his step.

"Remus?" His mother called when he entered the barren flat. He took off his shoes and headed for his mother's bedroom. She was sitting up with a book on her lap, smiling pleasantly. She patted her bedside and Remus silently moved to her side.

"Just a poem about the Lady of Shalott," his mother coughed. She handed him the book but he waved his hand.  
"Who is this? And what is here? And in the lighted palace near, died the sound of royal cheer. And they crossed themselves for fear, all the knights at Camelot; but Lancelot mused a little space. He said 'She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott." He said, smiling softly.

"I suppose I can relate to her..." Mused his mother, turning her head to look out the window.  
"As can I, we see the rich people rushing to and fro. All we can really do is watch them, wishing we had what they do..." Remus trailed off and shook his head.

"Well, enough of that, I'll go put the kettle on and bring you another book." He strained a smile and trotted to the door.  
"Remus..." His mother called out, said boy stopped with his hand hovering over the knob.  
"Yes mother?"  
"Please do not dwell on what we don't have..." She said gently, Remus hunched his shoulders and coughed.  
"Yes mother." He opened the door and quietly shut it. Marching to the kitchen and putting on the kettle, once he was done with that he slumped over and took in a deep breath.

"What is wrong with me? I never get that emotional in front of mother..." He sighed and took the kettle off the old stove as soon as it starting whistling. He served it and read to his mother until she fell asleep fitfully.  
When he collapsed on his bed on the floor, he took a moment to reflect on the day. He was somewhat proud of himself that he got a job, he smiled halfheartedly and turned over to fall asleep.

Xxx

The next day he awoke before his mother and changed into the nicest clothes he owned, which weren't much. His pants were too big and his shirt was like a dress, the one jacket he owned was filled with holes. The trousers were mud brown while his overly-large shirt was tan colored, his worn leather shoes were several sizes too small for his feet.

He sighed in embarrassment and fixed a meager breakfast for his mother whom would soon wake up coughing and hacking like she always did. Once the time had come, he took the small bowl of porridge to her room and kissed her goodbye. He trudged out of the flat and to street where he was eventually stopped by the same boy yesterday.

"Oi! C'mere you!" He was grabbed from behind and was faced by the rat-like face from yesterday.  
"Who are you?" Remus tried his hardest to glare at the boy, but in the outfit he was in, it was hard to look intimidating.

"Thomas Howley! It wasn't a pleasure to meet you." The strong boy bowed mockingly and laughed obnoxiously.  
"Well, Thomas I have to go." Remus tried to push past him, but despite Peter's girth, he was faster. The mousy boy had pushed him up against the wall painfully, leering at him.

"D' you think you're better than the rest of us?" Thomas laughed and spat in his face, pulling back his fist to hit the smaller. He punched him with all of his force and sent the smaller spiraling down to the cobblestones.

"News for you, you're nothing but a rat like us!" The built boy shouted and kicked him. He raised his fist again but his arm was stopped by an unknown assailant.  
"What's up with you?" Remus looked up and saw a rather tall boy with a mop of unruly inky black hair. Thomas snarled at him and tried to shove him aside, however, the taller did not budge.

"Oh bugger off Potter!" He yelled and swung at the other, Potter grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.  
"Why don't you bugger off, Howley. That's no way to talk to your superior." Potter threw the boy into the street and dared him with fierce brown eyes to come back. Thomas spat a few choice curses and ran with his tail between his legs.

"Don't worry about him, he's just a jealous sod." Potter helped Remus up and smiled at him brightly.  
"I'm James Potter, at your service." James extended his hand, Remus stared at the well dressed boy and shook his hand tentatively.

"Remus Lupin." He said meekly and looked down at his small shoes.  
"So, where ya heading Remus?" James asked, not commenting on Remus's shy attitude.  
"The Black Funeral Parlor...I think I'm late." Remus said and wondered if it was okay if he rushed out of the other's presence so he wouldn't keep his employer waiting.

"Oh really? I was heading there myself!" James grinned and began bounding towards the Funeral parlor with so much vigor that it confused the smaller.  
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you going?" Remus asked shyly, hoping he didn't breach any personal area.

"Just some business to take care of with the owner." He chuckled and waltzed into the building, disregarding the 'closed' sign at the door. Remus followed him in and hoped he wouldn't get yelled at by his employer.

"Um Mr. Black?" Remus called out loudly and nervously while James made himself comfortable on the couch.  
"You're somewhat late Remus...and you've brought a visitor...?" Sirius called out as he walked into the show room from what Remus could guess was his office. James popped up from his seat and pulled a disgusted expression.

"Seven years at the boarding school and you've forgotten a dear friend! I have half a mind to be offended!" James pouted, but he began to laugh at the awed expression on his friend's face.

"James! It's really you! I thought you were still in the countryside!" Sirius hugged James tightly and let out his barking laugh, startling Remus quite a bit.

"I was, but alas, I missed London too much! I was anxious to get back to my family, friend, and my darling Lily Pad!" James explained with a chuckle, releasing Sirius and splaying himself on the couch once again.

"Ah, the shoppes will be closing soon. James, would you like to accompany Remus and I to the shoppes?" Sirius asked while slapping James's feet off the table.  
"Sounds like fun! Of course I'll accompany, and after you're done we can catch up!" James agreed and stood up, stretching.

"Well, let us go," Sirius nodded to the younger silent boy and his friend. Together they set out for the shopping district of Victorian London.

XxX

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed reading...and I had something important on my mind but I can't quite remember what it is...Excuse any typos because I'm writing this in the middle of the night hopped up on Yoohoo and soda XD


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello again Readers! I hope you all enjoyed the last two chapters and I hope you enjoy reading this one! Ah, I forgot, I accidentally wrote Peter several times instead of Thomas, because I had initially written Peter as the bully but changed my mind. I don't believe Peter will be in this story very much...  
Also, I had to do some serious fixing after I read the chapter...So many mistakes gah! Hopefully I fixed them and next time I'll make sure not to type at 3 am anymore...

XxX

The trio set out, Sirius and James talking animatedly to each other while Remus trailed behind them. He felt out of place and uncomfortable, seeing as he had no social status and wasn't rich whatsoever. He listened to them talk about a boarding school called 'Hogwarts' wistfully, wishing he had a chance like them to get some higher type of education than what he was taught from his mother.

"So what do you want to do first?" James questioned as he strolled lazily down the walkway with Sirius at his side.  
"I haven't had breakfast today..." Sirius said mournfully as he patted his stomach, James grinned.  
"Did the old lady throw you out again?" He chuckled and stopped at a nice looking restaurant, just looking at it made Remus even more nervous. It seemed that Sirius had noticed the younger's hesitation and shook his head.

"What about a street vendor? Good food with out all the arse kissing." Sirius suggested to Remus's relief, James nodded in agreement.  
"True, I'm sad to say that while in the country I haven't had any type of vice." James commented and began walking once more.  
"Vice? If buying food from a vendor is some type of vice, I'm terrified to ask you what you did in the country for most of your stay." Sirius laughed and elbowed his friend gently.

"You have not known the true meaning of boredom until you've sat through Garden Party after Garden Party for a month straight. The only highlight of my trip was the horseback riding, oh, and the Polo!" The bespectacled teen said, nearly cheering when he mentioned his favorite hobby.

"What is...Polo?" Remus couldn't help but blurt out, he hated being confused about something and not to mention he was ever curious. James seemed to have forgotten that Remus was with them, for he jumped about a foot in the air in fright. When he finally got his bearings he was more than happy to explain about his favorite sport.

"Polo is the Sport of Kings! It is played on horses with four team members, for instance player three, that's me, is the tactical leader and the defense!" Sirius rolled his eyes, having heard this conversation many times before.

"You've gotten him started, now he'll never shut up!" Sirius remarked to Remus with a tired sigh. Remus blinked and shyly chuckled when his employer was playfully smacked in the head by James.  
They walked for a few minutes until James and Sirius both spotted a vendor and simultaneously grabbed Remus's arms.

"MEAT PIES!" They both shouted and rushed towards the startled vendor, dragging the younger along with them.  
"How many, boys...?" The middle-aged vendor smiled at the two rich nobles, but his smile twitched at the edges when he caught sight of the poor East Ender.  
"I'll have two!" James chirped and reached into his pocket to get out his wallet and pay the man.  
"The same please," Sirius said and reached a pale hand into his pocket as well. The vendor did not bother asking the young brunette, for he knew he did not have money to pay him. He instead opted to get the meat pies for the two rich nobles.

"Ah, I almost forgot...Remus, what would you like?" The stormy-eyed noble turned to the younger with a slight smile playing on his lips. Remus nervously looked up at the middle-aged man, the man scowled at him menacingly.

"I-I'm...not hungry..." The lie would have been believable if his stomach hadn't taken the cue to growl loudly.  
"Nonsense, company expenses remember?" Sirius laughed and smiled good-naturedly at his employee.  
"Sir...? I don't serve to...People like him." The vendor piped up, James stared at him for a while before red started to rise in his cheeks.  
"What the he-" He began, but Sirius cut him off.  
"Well enough, I'll just have four please." He glared at his best friend to quiet him and dutifully gave his money to the vendor, whom in return gave him his food as well as James's food.  
It wasn't until they were well enough away and Remus had gotten his portion that James piped up about the vendor's behavior.

"What was up his arse!?" He grumbled as he bit into his food like an angry animal. Sirius shrugged and ate just as ravenously, but was careful to keep stains off of his clothes.  
"It wouldn't be good if we had started a scene. As Nobles, we should keep our dignified air, otherwise we can't have our fun like usual." He winked and threw the wrappers into the street and wiped his hands on James's coat.

"Oi! That was brand new!" James screeched and shoved Sirius into the street. The taller smirked and latched onto his friend, making him fall as well. While all this was happening, Remus was silently and thoughtfully chewing on his meat pie. He took off his dirty brown jacket and wrapped it around the second meat pie for his mother, since dinner was usually hard to scrape together.

"So Remus, what do you have in mind as far as these shops?" James questioned once all the messing around with Sirius had subsided. Remus had been taken off guard by his inquires and shyly shrugged his shoulders.

"I've never been here before..." He offered instead and swiveled his head this way and that to get a good view of all the stores that were at their disposal.  
"Madam Malkin's then," James grabbed his arm and set off in the direction of the clothing store, "tally ho!" Sirius followed, grinning in amusement as they entered the store.

A short squat woman greeted them at the door, she kissed the two older nobles on the cheek and made small talk with them. When she finally noticed Remus, he anticipated the same reaction that he got from the food vendor. However, she looked him up and down and even smiled at him gently.

"Who is this dear?" She said kindly and patted him on the shoulder, she seemed to have not noticed the younger's awed expression.  
"His name is Remus Lupin, my new employee." Sirius explained, Remus thought he heard a slight hint of pride, but he shook his head. What did Sirius have to be proud of him for?

"A new employee eh? He looks to be quite bright! So you need me to tailor him a uniform?" She took out the tools of her trade and gestured for Remus to step on a pedestal that was placed in front of a mirror.  
"Yes please, and four eyes over here needs a coat as well," Sirius gestured over to the other noble that was currently trying on top hats, she chuckled and ruffled Sirius's dark locks fondly.

"Just leave it to me!" Malkin grinned and began to measure the East Ender, making him mildly uncomfortable. Sirius had gotten bored and started to wonder around the store, eventually joining James in his quest to try on every hat in the store.

Meanwhile, Remus tried his best not to blush at the intense attention that was paying paid to his body by the tiny woman. She finally pulled away and studied his willowy frame and swallow face. She tsked at him and patted his cheek gently.

"My dear boy, being from the East End gives you no excuse for not eating well!" She scolded him like a mother.  
"You know what I am?" Remus asked in surprise. He could tell from her initial reaction to meeting him that she probably didn't notice or care that he was the poorest of the poor, hearing her affirmation still caught him off guard.

"Of course deary! Once you've been in business as long as I have, you soon come to realize that not all good people are rich and not all bad people are poor. Plus, discriminating is bad for business!" She chirped and patted him on the back.

"I've got just the thing for you! Wait here while I gather them." She turned around and Remus watched her reflection recede into the back room where he guessed most of the clothes resided. He stared at his reflection solemnly, he immediately noticed that Madam Malkin was correct. His cheeks were hollow and his skin was sickly pale, his trousers didn't even reach his ankles and his tan shirt reached his knees.

"What's wrong?" Remus nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Sirius's face in the mirror.  
"A-ah...? N-nothing...!" He blushed and averted his eyes, willing his heart to slow down from before.  
"Don't worry, Madam Malkin's clothes are the best quality. The Blacks and Potters do not go anywhere else...In fact this is the place we first met. Ten years old and on our way to Hogwarts Boarding school, we became the best of friends in just a matter of a train ride." Sirius smiled at the memory.

"I remember that day like it was yesterday!" It was Sirius's turn to be startled as Malkin bustled her way past him and to Remus whom was still standing on the pedestal.  
"Two ten year olds screaming their heads off, who could forget!?" She laughed and removed Remus's tan shirt, which made his cheeks turn crimson with embarrassment.

"Do you ever go outside, lad?" She tsked and handed him a white button-up collared shirt, which he put on quickly, too flustered to even look at himself in the mirror.  
"Maybe we should start calling him milky white..." Sirius commented, mortifying his young employee even more, Malkin smacked him gently with a chuckle of her own.

"You're embarrassing the poor boy! Though I must agree." She tied the black bow tie and adjusted it as needed. She turned around and picked up the next object of clothing that completely frazzled Remus's nerves.  
"Now, just put on these trousers and I can help you put on the other accessories!" The last thing that Remus thought would be the death of him was a pair of gray plaid trousers. She handed the trousers to him and looked at him expectantly, Remus just nervously held them.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at the apparent nervousness of his employee.  
"Sirius, you go wait with James! Can't you see you're scaring the poor boy!" She shooed him out and closed the curtain with an amused wink. Relieved, Remus put on the trousers and stared at them pool around his ankles. Confused, he pulled them up again and wrapped his fingers around the black loops that were at the waistband. He spied two suspenders and hooked them to the pants, he placed them over his shoulders and let go. He grinned when the trousers stayed put on his hips and picked up the hat that Malkin left for him. It was a gray tweed newspaper boy hat that went well with his outfit, sighing to himself, he drew back the curtain.

Madam Malkin clapped her hands together while Sirius just stared at him, it made Remus slightly uncomfortable.  
"It looks wonderful!" Malkin beamed and patted Remus's cheek affectionately.  
"Yes...A wonderful selection, Madam Malkin." Sirius complemented and placed his hand on his employee's shoulder.

"I agree!" James popped his head out of a doorway wearing a lime green bowler tilted to the side. Madam Malkin chuckled at the Potter boy and patted Sirius's cheek.

"Now for my favorite part! The bill!" Both Nobles groaned in unison while Remus watched on in amusement.

A/N: Pretty short chapter DX I obviously struggled through this chapter because I didn't have much to write about, I mostly wanted to establish Sirius's and James's friendship and Remus's place in society. Since Remus is an East Ender, not many people like him and he's a victim to his own circumstances. The Next chapter will be longer, I promise because after this chapter (and maybe the 4th as well) things start to pick up steam! So bear with me please!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello again dear readers! A big thanks to the reviewers/favoriters/alerters! You guys give me the drive to keep going! Thank you for bearing with me for the last three chapters! Oh yeah! Anyone else who watched E3? XD

XxX

After paying up a rather large amount of money, the trio left Madam Malkin's bogged down with bags and boxes (mostly in James's case) of clothing. After finding an outfit for Remus, Sirius had ordered more of the same outfit, which amounted to a large bill. James had found several bowlers, top hats, and tweed caps. So many that Remus had to carry a good portion of the boxes while Sirius refused to even carry one box.

"You shouldn't have bought so many," he snorted and crossed his arms, turning his nose up at James.  
"Not fair! You ruined my coat! Take some responsibility and carry a box!" James hissed as he balanced the boxes on his shoulders and arms.  
"If you bought a coat, then I would've carried it. As far as I can see, you haven't bought a coat, so I'm not obligated to carry anything." Sirius deadpanned and adjusted Remus's uniforms that were draped over his arm.

"Says the person who bought out Honeydukes at least once a month!" James retorted and narrowly stopped one box from falling in the gutter.  
"Honeydukes...?" Remus asked, looking first at James and then to his boss.

"Where we went to school, Hogwarts, there was a quaint little village about an hours carriage ride away. There were tons of shops there, one such shop was called Honeydukes, the best confectionery shop in existence!" James went starry-eyed for a moment, Sirius just sighed.

"This guy here," James nudged his best friend playfully, "usually bought out the store when he got his allowance. 'Hero of the Dormitory' is what the rest of the boys called him!"

"Those boys were awfully easy to please..." Sirius commented and unlocked the door to the funeral parlor. He stepped aside to let Remus and James walk in, however, he was knocked across the room when James dropped all of his parcels and sprinted to the sofa.

Remus got the impression that James acted like a child, while Sirius was rather well...Serious. It was especially apparent in their banter, Sirius sighed in exasperation while James would carry on with whatever he was doing. He wondered how they could get along so well, with being as different as they were.

"Seems it's getting late, Remus would you like me to walk you home?" Sirius asked while he placed all but one uniform on the sofa beside his best friend. Before Remus could decline his offer, James sat up and latched onto the younger's arm.

"I'll take him, the streets are dangerous at night and you still have to lock up!" The bespectacled teen took the lone uniform out of his friend's hands and marched Remus to the door.

"What about these hats?" Sirius gestured to the many parcels that littered the floor, James just shrugged.  
"I'll be back in the morning to get them before you open up!" James called over his shoulder as he opened the door for Remus.  
"Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron tonight, we still have to catch up!" With that the bespectacled noble closed the door and walked onto the cobblestone street with his friend's employee.

"So, any questions about your employer?" James asked, kicking a lone stone in front of him.  
"He's so...Serious, his name is quite fitting." Remus commented and looked at the older with confusion when he heard an amused cackle.

"His name isn't spelled 'Serious', like 'are you serious'? It's spelled like, 'Sir' 'I' 'Us'. The best way to put it is like the Dog Star, Sirius. He's actually quite the prankster, believe it or not. He's just trying to act all prim and proper because he thinks he should be an example. Though, if you ask me, I think he grew up too fast." James strained a smile and his eyes looked a little crestfallen.

"If you don't mind me asking, why?" James just shook his head.  
"Let's just say, his family isn't the best." He spoke lightly and made it apparent that the matter was closed for discussion.

"Anyway, he's easy to talk to and he's a nice guy, just don't make him angry..." The noble trailed off and handed the uniform over to the younger teenager whom stopped in front of his decrepit home.  
"See you soon, and be careful when you're walking home from now on. Somebody might rob you!" He smiled and waved, Remus offered him a small shy smile and disappeared into his home.

Immediately, James's smile fell and he looked quite tired. He began walking to the tavern he and Sirius always went to when they had time. The Leaky Cauldron was a rather old place, cobwebs were on the wall and the furniture was wooden and creaky. Nevertheless, the company was usually composed of hardworking men whom had just finished their days on construction sites or any other type of manual labor. The drinks were another thing entirely, they only offered one type of alcoholic beverage and that was ale, but the ale was to die for.

James waltzed into the tavern and immediately sought out his best friend. Sirius was sitting in the corner, smoking a cigar and cradling a tumbler of ale in his pale pianist fingers. James made a beeline to the bar and ordered an ale himself, once that was done and he to cradled his ale in regal fingers did he finally make his presence known to his friend.

"'Ello..." Sirius drank and nestled his head in his palm, he looked downright exhausted and tired. James noticed and refrained from voicing it, he didn't want to further sour his friend's mood.  
"Hello dear friend, may I ask what's wrong?" James questioned, preparing himself for the incoming onslaught that would surely come from his friend.

"I...I'm not quite sure myself..." Sirius looked down and sighed in irritation, James raised an eyebrow.  
"Sirius not being sure of himself, this is a first." James took a drink and winced when it burned his throat.  
"Shut up, I was going to tell you what's bothering me but not after you opened your big mouth!" Sirius growled, James put his hands up in mock defeat.

"Sorry sorry, go on please." He apologized and took another drink of his ale. Sirius sighed and fiddled with his cuff before going on.  
"I...I feel sick to my stomach...I think I may like my new employee..." He muttered and averted his eyes while James forced himself not to laugh.

"You like...Remus? Remus who is not only a male, but an East Ender and a commoner. Tough luck." James took another sip and nearly spit it out when Sirius's palm made contact to the back of his head.

"Ouch! No need to do that! Look, I like Remus like a friend, but if your parents find out, you're as good as dead. Do you want that?" James asked, peering at him challengingly.

"Says the boy who's courting Evans!" Sirius groaned and pointed an accusing finger at his friend, whom just shrugged.  
"What about her? She's technically Nobility." James retorted carelessly.  
"Technically she's not, she just got adopted into a noble family! She's technically still a commoner!" James slammed his palm down to quiet his friend.

"Don't talk that way about Lily! I don't care if she is or isn't a commoner! I love her and that's all that matters!" James hissed venomously. It seemed to be Sirius's turn to put up his hands in mock defeat.  
"I apologize James, I took it too far..." Sirius amended and pushed his tumbler around the wooden table.

"It's...fine, it's fine. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that...Anyway, I've been needing to talk to you about something important." James slyly looked over his shoulder to see if they were any eavesdroppers listening to their conversation. When he was satisfied that no one listening, he went on cautiously.

"Your little...Hobby." James prodded, Sirius looked at him quite unamused.  
"What about it?" He deadpanned and drank from his cup again, looking down at the now empty container.  
"Does anyone now? Has anyone mentioned it?" James asked, nervously shifting in his seat.  
"Not as far as I know, I just have a rather swell name. They call me the 'London Phantom', nice right?" James whistled and chuckled.

"I leave you for month and you start killing people. Unbelievable!" James snorted in amusement and downed his own ale to the last drop.  
"Nice name, I have to say. I wonder what my 'killer name' would be...? Something fear-inducing no doubt!" He chuckled and slammed down the cup rather giddily. Sirius just watched his drunken antics with faint amusement.

"Four-eyed killer, I think that rather fits." Sirius joked and yelped when his friend flicked him on the hand.  
"That's not funny!" James hissed and crossed his arms with a pout, Sirius rubbed his sore hand with a scowl.  
"It's getting late," Sirius remarked with a yawn.  
"And?" James shrugged his shoulders and looked out the window.  
"And that means that I have to go now, I have an early day tomorrow." Sirius got up to leave and fixed the cuffs on his coat.

"Why?" James whined as he latched onto his friend, much to the annoyance of the said friend.  
"Because some idiot left his hat parcels in my Funeral Parlor." Sirius said and pulled himself free and began to walk away from the table.

"Sirius...?!" Sirius turned around and was met with the anxious face of James Potter.  
"Yes?" He asked his friend with a raised eyebrow.  
"Be careful okay?" James said and averted his eyes to look at his leather shoes instead of his best friend.  
"Okay." Sirius smiled gently and nodded, turning back around to leave the Leaky Cauldron.

"Who else would pull pranks with me?!" James called after him in a sudden burst of humor, Sirius gave his signature bark of laughter and closed the door of the tavern and ventured out to the foggy English night.  
A cold breeze blew past him and he pulled his black overcoat closer to his body, shivering slightly. He sighed and decided to take a detour from the path and soon found himself in an alley way.  
He looked around, trying to remember if he had been this way before. It was no use, everything looked the same in the unforgiving night. He shrugged is shoulders and began to walk forward something latched around his neck and waist. The eighteen year old grunted in surprise when he felt these bonds that felt like human arms tightening around his body.

"Just give me your money and I'll let you live," the voice beside his ear hissed. Sirius couldn't help but grin in delight. He was quite pleased that his latest victim had delivered himself to Sirius's awaiting clutches.

XxX

Remus was sitting on his bed with the window opened, the cool breeze and full moon helped him unwind from the day. His mother had finally fallen into a fitful rest thanks to the neighbor Charity Burbage, and everything was still in the broken down home.

Yawning, Remus listened to the outside sounds and grew pale when he heard a distant scream. He shook his head and closed the window, London was quite a dangerous place after all. Although fretfully, Remus decided to pay the scream no mind. He knew that he could do nothing for the person whom uttered the blood-curdling sound. He was weak.

"I'm just weak and frail." Remus said to himself and stretched upon the unmade bed tiredly. He immediately fell asleep, twisting and turning, losing himself to the dream world he so often visited.

_'Where am I?' Remus thought as he surveyed his surroundings. He was unnerved to see that it was where he had been earlier in the day, he could make out Madam Malkin's shop. What unnerved him was the eerie emptiness of the street, the pitch black and fog didn't help either as he anxiously made his way up the street to some unknown goal. Each step that he took echoed loudly, making him cringe before every step._

After a few minutes of walking _Remus stopped and stared, he was in a completely different part of London. It wasn't familiar to him and it heightened his anxiety, so much so that he backed up against a wall and swiveled his head left to right to catch a glimpse of what was lurking in the shadows._

He could sense two figures waiting, what they wanted was any ones guess. All that Remus felt that he could do in this situation was to wait for them. After what seemed to be an eternity, his anxiety left him and he bolted towards an unspecified direction. He blanched to see that he had ran straight into a dead-end.

_Feeling like the cornered prey, Remus drew back into the farthest corner in the dead-end and awaited his pursuers with baited breath. He didn't have to wait long, for something emerged from the shadows.  
It was figure-less until it was only an inch away from Remus's face, then it morphed hideously into what seemed to be an older version of himself, complete with wrinkles and graying hair._

It traced it's cracked pale fingers across Remus's cheeks and for some reason tears fell from the younger's eyes in rapid pace. He tried desperately to draw away from it, but his back was flat against the stone.

"Please...Stop..." Remus coughed out and flinched when the fingers stopped. When nothing happened, Remus looked up and nearly screamed when he saw a figure behind the one that was in front of him. It had glowing red eyes, like angry coals in a dying fire. In it's hands was a glinting knife that slashed down and made the figure that had his face disappear in thick black smoke.  
To the brunette's horror, it seemed that he had inhaled the black smoke. It restricted his breathing until he fell to his knees, clawing at his throat for mercy.  
The last thing he saw was the red-eyed figure standing above him, but it seemed that it didn't have it's knife with him.

"No!" Remus awoke, sweating and shaking. Tears poured down his face and he drew his shaking figure closer to his chest and let out a wretched sob.  
"Why...?" He buried his head into his knees and tried to wipe his tears on his night shirt.  
"Why now?" He looked down and willed the tears to stop following, they didn't.

He sighed and buried his head in his pillow, trying with all his might to forget the nightmare that afflicted him.  
"Father...?"

XxX

A/N: I changed the summary for my story since it wasn't fitting to the storyline I had laid out for myself so I decided to change it, sorry DX_  
_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to everyone who liked the last chapter! Please enjoy this one as well!

Xxx

Remus yawned as he watched the sun come up, after his nightmare sleep evaded him. Every time he closed his eyes he could see the shadow vividly, haunting him and taunting. He stretched and began getting ready for the dead, since it was going to be his very first day working with Sirius.  
He did his best with bathing, running out into the cold day in search for the nearest well. When he finally found one, he dumped the bucket over his head and brushed his soaked locks out of his face. He raced back to his home and dried himself off with his blanket, while he was doing so, the tell-tale coughing echoed throughout the small house.

"Mum?" He called out and threw on his uniform, crossing into the kitchen to put on her morning tea. Once that was done, he quietly went into her room and opened the curtains.  
She blinked blearily and attempted to sit up, thanking her son when he helped her and placed the pillow to support her back.

"Such a good son," she smiled and patted his cheek affectionately. Remus smiled at her and heard the kettle whistle it's screeching song, he turned around to go to the kitchen but was stopped by his mother's voice.

"Remus?" She called out, he turned his head to face her. Her amber eyes were filled with gut-wrenching sadness, it made the younger's heart ache.

"Yes mum?" He asked nervously. Even though he didn't know it, his own amber eyes showed similar sadness, and that was unforgivable on her part.

"What will you do when I'm gone?" The question took her son aback, he stared at her with wide eyes and shook his head.

"Don't think of things like that, mum. I'm going to get money to pay for your medicines! Just please don't lose faith in me!" Remus said and clenched his shaking fists, hiding them from view behind his back.

"Sweet child, I've never lost faith in you," her sentence ended in a coughing fit that took her a minute to recover from.

"I've...I've failed as a parent." She claimed sadly and beckoned her son to her side. Remus dutifully knelt at his mother side and let his mother run her shaking fingers through his hair.

"No you haven't mum." Remus assured and nestled into her hand, sighing in contentment.  
"I've caused you so much pain, even if I am treated...I won't last long..." She trailed off and stilled her hand, studying her son's face.

Remus brushed a piece of graying brown hair out of her face and behind her ear and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her.  
"Don't say things like that."

When they pulled away, she placed her palm against his cheek and stared at him again, tears seemed to be brimming in her eyes.

"You look just like him...You look just like John..." She cried and hugged him again, not seeing her son's pale and anxious face.

"M-Mum...The t-tea..." He pulled away from her and rushed out of the room to serve the tea. When he returned with a chipped teacup, he saw his mother sleeping soundly upon the bed. She seemed to be exhausted from the emotional scene that she just had.

Remus's lips twitched at the edges in brief amusement, he quietly tiptoed into her room and left the warm cup at her bedside. Careful to not wake her, he shut the door quietly and greeted his mother's caretaker.

"She's sleeping soundly." Remus told his neighbor, a married blond woman named Charity Burbage. She nodded and entered on cat's feet.

The walk to his job was peaceful, not many of the neighborhood boys were awake and the men on the street were bustling to their own places of work. The morning air was crisp and the cold breezes that blew their way in Remus's direction seemed to also take his thoughts with it.

"I look like Father...?" He mulled aloud and held his palms up to his face, as if a secret on his hands would reveal itself.  
"Of course I am his son..." He sighed and shook his head to clear up those treacherous thoughts. It wouldn't do to be distracted on his first day of real work for Sirius.

He entered the shop and noticed that not one box was in sight and neither was his employer. Remus shifted and waited for his boss, nearly jumping out of his skin when said man slammed his office door open.

"Remus?" He asked and walked into the main area of the parlor where Remus was standing.  
"Yes sir?" Remus asked, waiting for his task, meanwhile Sirius looked him over and nodded to himself.

"Good, I see you're in uniform and I have a task for you to do! Since I had forgotten to buy a broom yesterday, you'll just have to dust this place. I know it sounds easy, but I mean everything and I have quite a lot of things in my office that are in need of cleaning." Sirius looked around and spotted the black feather duster. He grabbed it and tossed it to Remus.

"If you have any questions just ask me, though hold off if I'm with a customer. Oh and if you see a rather severe looking woman, please hide the duster. She'll have my head if she finds out I, ah, 'borrowed' her antique feather duster." Sirius looked down sheepishly for a moment.

"Excuse me, but how will I know who she is?" Remus questioned, holding the object in his hands carefully.  
"Easy, you'll see me running." Sirius chuckled and turned to open a door that was labeled 'Morgue' in elegant script.

Left to himself, Remus decided to start off with the showroom and client area. He was quite surprised by the amount of dust that had accumulated, one swoop of the duster had sent up a rather large dust cloud that made Remus rival his mother in coughing.  
An hour had passed since he first began, he was currently dusting the silver and green tapestries that lined the walls carefully. He was standing on a step ladder and nearly fell off when the door opened and closed. He looked behind him and saw an old woman wearing a black veil on her face.

"Be with you in a moment, madam!" He called behind his shoulder and made to get down, however, the door that Sirius had disappeared into slammed open and startled the poor worker. Remus stumbled on the ladder and lost his footing, slamming his eyes shut when he felt himself beginning to fall. When his face didn't impact the floor, Remus opened his eyes and was shocked to see the face of his employer hovering over him.

"Huh?!" Crimson bloomed on the younger's cheek and he frantically yet gently pulled away.  
"Ah...Thank you for catching me sir!" He chirped with false enthusiasm and quickly crossed to the other side of the room to dust a random object, which happened to be a mirror.

He secretly watched Sirius talking to his customer, compassion etched on his face. He sat the woman down and offered her tea, which she declined, and chatted with her about mundane things. Remus wasn't aware that he had stopped dusting until he caught Sirius's eye in the mirror, immediately he began dusting again and avoided eye contact.

"So, if I have everything correct...The funeral will be in a couple of days from now and I will work put the finishing touches on the casket, I will also talk to the reverend for the ceremony and have your husband's picture taken. Please leave it in my hands and rest up." Sirius smiled kindly and ushered the woman out, she thanked him and went on her way.

"And that is how it is done," Sirius stood up and stretched.  
"Do you deal with all of your customers with that much compassion?" Remus regretted asking immediately.  
"I try..." Sirius yawned and relaxed on the couch.

Most the day passed that way, Remus cleaning up and secretly watching his employer talk to his clients with such gentleness and compassion that he could barely even believe that Sirius was a noble. He couldn't help the rising blush that tainted his cheeks when he thought about it, how genuine his stormy eyes looked.

"Remus, I'm going downstairs to fix some caskets. Please, dust my office and you can leave." Sirius called to him and (to Remus's annoyance) slammed the door shut.  
Sighing to himself, Remus opened the door to his employer's office and was surprised to see the yellow and crimson tapestries that were draped on the walls and his desk, one such tapestry had stitching that spelled 'GRYFFINDOR LIONS' in gold thread. The brunette was also pleased to see that the office was rather taken care of and he didn't have much work to do.

"Everything is completely different..!" Remus said to himself and began to dust the desk. He couldn't help but notice a picture of a younger Sirius (in what he presumed was Polo gear) with his arm slung on James's shoulder. They both seemed to be laughing and having a good time with each other, Remus couldn't help but dwell upon Sirius's handsome face. He thought that his employer was quite attractive, but it was nothing compared to seeing a bright smile on his face.

The brunette faintly wondered why Sirius wasn't happy or smiling now, but then he remembered James's statement about Sirius growing up to fast. He frowned and placed the picture frame back on the desk and carried on with his task, finishing in no time at all.

Pleased with himself, he left Sirius's office and sat down on the sofa. He noticed that it smelled faintly of his employer's cologne and not of the dusty old odor that emitted from the decorations that hung on the walls. Before he could regain his senses, he fell into a deep and restful slumber.

"Remus...?" The brunette felt something shake him, he opened his eyes blearily and was shocked to see Sirius's face hovering him for the second time that day.

"I'm so very sorry!" He exclaimed and sat up quickly, giving himself a head rush.  
"It's fine, but if you don't mind me asking, did you not get any sleep last night?" Sirius questioned and sat down beside his employee.

"Not really, sir. I had a nightmare last night..." Remus trailed off uncertainly, but continued when he saw Sirius's concerned face.  
"It was about my father." He said and averted his eyes in embarrassment.  
"Why?" Sirius questioned once again and drew himself closer to the younger, but still keeping an appropriate distance from him.

"When I was just a kid, my father left my mother and soon after that she grew very ill. I think it was heartbreak, but the doctor said it was something else entirely...but after Father left, mum just lost the will to live and she got really sick..." He explained tearfully, but kept his emotions mostly in check.

"I guess you could say that he's the reason I don't really venture out past the East End and your Funeral Parlor...I'm terrified of seeing a man whom looks like me, I'm scared of what I might find out...I wonder if he left us for another family or if he died...I'm too scared to find out." Remus concluded and was surprised to feel warm arms wrap around him in a tight hug.

"We'll find him together..." Remus shook his head vigorously.  
"N-No! I'm sorry that I burdened you with this, please I'm fine and I just...I just don't think I'm ready to find out the truth yet..." Sirius nodded in understanding and released Remus.

"You should go home now, your mother might be wondering where you are. Please get some rest tonight." Sirius stood up and offered Remus a strained smile. Remus nodded and promptly left the establishment.

Just as soon as he left, a rather unsavory relative of Sirius's waltzed in and gave Sirius a withering leer.  
"Cousin..." She said in a sing-song voice and seated herself on her cousin's sofa.

"What do you want, Bellatrix?" Sirius snarled harshly, glaring disgusted daggers at her. She didn't flinch, but smirked at him contemptuously.  
"I've come here to recruit you, dear cousin. It seems your time has come to be of use to us!" She smiled largely and twirled a piece of her unkempt hair between slim pale fingers.

"My answer is no," Sirius hissed and began to busy himself with placing a stack of books on a shelf, Bellatrix laughed in response.

"Silly boy, and here I thought you've grown out of your 'Gryffindor' ideals." She remarked sarcastically.  
"I said no, so please get out and never come back!" Sirius slammed down a book and turned to face her fiercely.

"I saw the boy whom scurried out of here...Hiring the common folk are we?" Sirius gritted his teeth and pointed towards the door.  
"Out!" Bellatrix laughed again.

"Listen and listen good wench, I'll never join you or your over-zealot group of followers! You can die for all I care!" Sirius turned quickly around and grabbed a book, without aiming he hurled it towards his cousin.

She barely dodged it and snarled at her younger cousin, standing up from the sofa and flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

"You'll regret the day you crossed me Sirius Orion Black! We'll be back and if then you don't agree, there will be hell to pay!" She yelled and kicked a chair aside before storming out of the Funeral Parlor, leaving a furious Sirius to slam the books into their places and curse darkly.

XxX

A/N: I possibly might not be able to update on Father's day weekend, I'm going out of town (to the middle of nowhere DX) and a big thanks to those who reviewed! You made my day 110% better! (Putin Much XD)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Ah...I'm crying ;-; why you ask? I've gotten to the part of my chapter planning that I'm dying to write but then again I'll die from the sadness DX Let's just say that after the next few chapters, things will get really serious really fast! Plus I was reviewing myself with Harry Potter since I haven't read the books or seen the movies in quite a while and then my heart gets hit with Regulus love. Yup, Regulus has to be one of my favorite characters next to Sirius and Remus and the way he...kills me every time DX  
P.S. This feels like filler to me...Ugh! Least favorite chapter, but it introduces some interesting aspects to the story and a new minor character!

xXx

Sirius calmed himself down with a cup tea, nearly crushing the delicate cup in his hands as he held it. He sighed and sat down on the couch, trying to desperately think of anything else but his infuriating cousin and her cult.

He knew everything about the cult she was trying to make him join, he gripped his teacup in fury once again, needless to say just thinking of them made his blood boil.  
"Good luck trying to get me to join those freaks," he spat and glared at the wall in front of him.

"I bet mother and father told her to come by, those disgusting, vile excuses for parents!" He growled, he hated his parents immensely and it was apparent that the feeling was mutual, he was a disappointment to them. He couldn't care about what they thought, he wouldn't care! If he obeyed their every whim, then he would have probably ended up worse off than his cousin Bellatrix.

"I need to talk to James..." Sirius said to himself and left the parlor, making sure to lock up and made his way to the Potter residence.  
He knocked on the door loudly and was met with the Potter's servant, an impish boy by the name of Dobby. Sirius was rather fond of the serving boy, more so then his own servant he nicknamed Kreacher . The servant was quite loyal to his mother, and was especially fond of his younger brother. Sirius supposed it was because of Regulus's kindness to the old servant.

"Dobby, is James home?" Sirius asked, smiling pleasantly. Dobby nodded enthusiastically and beckoned him to come inside.  
"Master James is in his room, shall Dobby fetch him?" The green-eyed boy chirped in question, Sirius chuckled and shook his head.

"I'll go up there myself, thank you though Dobby." Sirius patted him on the head and made his way up the stairs. Too enthralled in his thoughts, the noble didn't think twice of opening the door without knocking.

"Oi! Can't a man have his privacy!?" James yelled and covered himself up, but it was too late, Sirius began to laugh and point.  
"Can't a man have the decency to not pleasure himself when company is over?" He doubled over laughing, his foul mood disappearing.

"Shut up and turn around!" James shouted in embarrassment, trying and failing to pull his pants up.  
"So you can finish off? I don't think so." Sirius snickered but turned around nonetheless. He was still laughing as James pulled up his trousers and placed a pillow on his lap.

"You'd think someone as secretive as you would know about knocking!" James hissed, trying to push down the rose painting his cheeks.  
"Oh, come on James! Don't act like this is the first time I walked in on something like this! We use to sure a dorm together after all." The gray-eyed noble chuckled and sat down on a desk chair.

"Not to mention your penchant for not knocking..." James commented and stretched out on the bed.  
"So, what is so important that you had to interrupt me during my private time?" The eighteen year old asked, rolling his eyes at the stifled chuckle of his friend.

"Bellatrix visited me again today," Sirius sighed once he had calmed down enough to talk properly. For being so used to walking in on James during awkward moments, the novelty of it never faded.

"You're kidding?" James sat up with wide eyes, looking a tiny bit paler. He knew that his friend's cousin was bad news.  
"I wish I was, she decided to bless me with her presence and persuade me to join that group again." Sirius rolled his eyes and leaned back in the chair.

"Do you think your parents put her up to it?" James asked, fiddling with his bed covers nervously.  
"Maybe, I wouldn't put it passed them." Sirius shrugged and closed his eyes.

"James, I couldn't go back there again...I can't...Once was already enough and I wasn't the 'Guest of Honor' my first time...And doing that to other people...Other peoples kids and siblings. That's sick." Sirius started to shake involuntarily as he remembered his plight so many years ago.

"Sirius, it won't do you any good to think of that...Just refuse them. Maybe one day you can put a stop to them...Hopefully one day." James tried to comfort him, but he could see that it wasn't working so he decided to try another tactic.

"So, I understand that it was Remus first working day today. How was it?" James asked, hoping that Sirius's mood would pick up at the mention of the object of his affections.

"I...He broke down in front of me and told me about his father." Sirius sighed, James winced.  
"Damn," James whistled, Sirius scowled at him.  
"Language." He scolded uselessly, trying to tease his friend.  
"But damn, that's a pretty serious thing to talk about on the first day." James said, Sirius just sighed deeply.

"He had a nightmare about his father, says he's too scared to look for him." Sirius explained further.  
"Really? Sorry to burst your righteous bubble but...This isn't your problem Sirius." The teen stated monotonously.

"I want to look for him, James" Said noble shook his head vigorously.  
"Nothing good can come of this Sirius!" James protested.  
"I want to protect him! If I find out his father is a good man then I'll introduce them, but if he's bad then I'll keep Remus away from him!" Sirius reasoned.

"It isn't your job to protect him! Remus is a big boy, he can protect himself! You shouldn't meddle!" James shouted in frustration.  
"Why do you feel the need to protect someone whom doesn't need it?!"  
"Because I think I'm falling in love with him!" Immediately the room went silent, minutes passed by before James spoke tentatively.

"Nothing can become of you two. It would be different if he was a woman, but you two are both men! Sirius, wake up! I'm sorry to say but even if these feelings are mutual, you'll have to leave him one way or another. You have a duty to your family, and that's to produce an heir." Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You sound exactly like my parents," Sirius scoffed, James shrugged.  
"I only want what is best for you, and right now that isn't Remus."  
"Just this once and I swear I'll leave him be." Sirius asked his best friend as sincerely as possible. James sighed but in the end agreed.

"Only if you believe that this is best for Remus," he sighed and sprawled out on his bed.  
"I truly believe that this is the best course of action for him, he looked...he looked so sad when he was telling me all this..." The gray-eyed noble said, looking down at his hands.

"So, do you know anything? The man's name? Where he lives?" James asked, Sirius shook his head reluctantly.  
"Do you even know his surname?" James sighed in exasperation.  
"Lupin...I think..." The bespectacled teen groaned.  
"That might be his mother's maiden name!" James threw a goose feather pillow friend, which hit him in the face.

"It's a start!" Sirius countered lamely.  
"Do you even know if he's even alive? This might be one huge waste of time!"  
"I don't see why you're being so negative about! If I never find him, then Remus won't either." It was James's turn to scoff.

"I think Remus would be more successful at this than you," Sirius scowled at his best friend.  
"What makes you think that?" He questioned with narrowed eyes.  
"He knows more about his own father than you do, for example, his name." Sirius rolled his eyes in irritation and stood up.

"Were are you going?" James asked and stood up as well.  
"I'm going to meet a friend of mine, he'll have some information." Sirius said and turned away to walk out the bedroom door, however, James grabbed his arm.

"You're going to _that _guy? Are you sure it's best to involve your..._world _into this?" His friend raised an eyebrow.  
"If you're asking about Wormtail, then you'll be happy to hear that he's been keeping his nose clean and I hardly have to tell you that he isn't involved in...My world or however else you put it." James shook his head.

"I meant that drowned rat Fletcher!" He hissed, Sirius rolled his eyes.  
"I can't say the same for Fletcher, the last I heard of him he was working down by the graves for extra money. You can stay here if you want, it's much easier to move about the Underworld when one is alone." Sirius assured his friend, James crossed his arms and averted his eyes.  
"Easier to get killed as well," James muttered darkly under his breathe.

"I'll talk to Lily, she might know of a Lupin since she's been volunteering at the clinic that's frequented by all sorts of East Enders. I'll let you know by tomorrow if need be."  
"Could you save your visit until after I get off of work? I would like to pay Lily dearest a visit myself, since I've only met her once or twice and such visits were...Rather unpleasant." Sirius chuckled lightly.

"She is rather fanatical with her suffrage pamphlets..." James shared in the chuckle. They both exited the room and James walked his friend to the door.

"Be careful out there, brother. Even if you do know the Underworld like the back of your hand, you can never be sure of what snakes are lying in the grass." James clasped his friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry about me, I've been associated with that world since I was young. Hell, I was born into it and most of the snakes are related to me. Stay safe yourself, brother." Sirius smiled and bid adieu to his best friend.

Sirius fast walked through the streets, making sure to avoid any troublesome people on his way to the far East of London in search of his informant Mundungus Fletcher. He stopped at his Funeral Parlor for a brief moment to fetch his black scarf, wrapping it around his lower face to conceal his identity. When he set out again, he hailed a hansom cab that was drawn by one powerful black horse.

He gave the driver his fare and communicated a location that wasn't far off from where Fletcher usually was working, which was a human dumping ground that masqueraded as a cemetery for the poor.  
Once he was a mile away from the cemetery, Sirius pounded on the cab roof to let the driver know that this was his stop. The driver stopped and shoot Sirius a confused look as he exited, but his expression soon changed to fear as Sirius pulled out his ever-present knife.

"Say nothing and I'll let you live," Sirius grunted in a deep voice, attempting and succeeding in disguising his voice. The man nodded fearfully and took off as soon as Sirius stepped away from the cab, shaking the dirt that had situated on his scarf from the cab's wheels, Sirius made his way to the cemetery.

As he was getting closer he could see a tiny yellow blot that resembled a lantern in the distance. He headed that way and called out when he was close enough.

"Oi Fletcher!" Sirius shouted and made his way to where the short middle-aged man was leaning against a shovel that was stuck in the ground beside a shallow grave.

"'Ello Sirius, what brings you here?" Mundungus questioned as he wiped non-existent sweat from his brow.  
"I just needed to ask you some question about a man I'm looking for." Sirius said and glanced down at the shallow grave, Fletcher noticed his stare.

"Peter outsourced me a corpse digging job for his new employers," Fletcher explained, Sirius raised an elegant eyebrow.  
"Outsourced? Are you sure you can trust him?" The noble asked, Fletcher shrugged.  
"I know I'm not getting paid for this, but he helped me out a few days ago with the Pigs in Spinner's End. As for trust, I have no reason to stick my nose in his business as he has no reason to stick his nose in mine. As to why he's collecting bodies has nothing to do with me, they're not gonna be missed anyhow." Fletcher explained to his friend .

"Still the same," Sirius snorted, "anyway, I need to know if you've seen or heard of a man with the last name Lupin?" Fletcher shook his head.

"Haven't seen a Lupin, but I've heard of a man who goes by that name..." He scratched at his head which was covered in mousy brown dirty hair.

"So he's not dead?" Sirius perked up a bit, searching Fletcher's face for anything that could tell him that the grave-digger was lying.  
"Clever, if he was dead then I surely would know 'bout it. He's known for something, but as for what it slips my mind.

"Does his name happen to be John?" Sirius shrugged in response.  
"I'm not quite sure, but at the moment I'll take it." He said and reached into his pocket to retrieve a small bag filled with gold coins.

"Here, thanks for the help...Before I forget, are you sure you don't know why Wormtail is having you dig up these graves?" Fletcher took the money and shook his head.

"For a price I could find out, Wormy isn't all that bright, but as far as I know right now...His employers might be apart of the Noble society like you, I caught him talking to a woman in a black carriage. Nasty looking broad if I do say so meself." Sirius cracked a smile half-heartedly at the description.

"Just pretend that the bag of money is also payment for the information you will provide me," Sirius grinned, Fletcher chuckled.

"And if I don't, will you kill me?" He laughed and turned back to the body he was digging up.  
"You never know," Sirius winked and went on his way back to his home. He decided that for right now, he wouldn't make any other moves in his effort to find John Lupin until after he spoke to Lily. If he dare chanced another talk with someone connected to the Underworld like Fletcher, he dared having his plight spread all over the Underworld and subsequently thwarted by his cousin or someone else from the same walk of life as her, namely her fanatic cult members.

XxX

A/N: Not much going on for this chapter, it's mostly just talk and such. Just a little bit of humor and a little bit of mystery (I suppose...) and next chapter we get to meet...LILY!  
Update: Sorry guys I meant to upload this immediately when I got back to town but...I was bedridden and couldn't update, yup I manage to catch something while I was on holiday, geez I'm lame XD Anyway, I just hope that you enjoyed this! (and hopefully I don't have mono or something DX)


	7. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Really important Author's note:  
Hello everyone who has read my story and reviewed/faved/followed it, I have some bad news for you guys. As of right now I *****might* be moving this does NOT mean that I'm not going to finish this story! I promise I will! I have everything planned out and I know I have been slacking off in my updating and such. I have reasons for that as well. The reason why I might be moving is because of some family issues and you guys know how that goes...Right now I'm not certain of ANYTHING and I just want you guys to bear with me. The next update might be in a couple of weeks, months or even a year from now, I'm not sure. It depends on whether I'm moving or not and if I am, how long it will be before we get internet (I'm going to live with my grandparents who live in the middle of NOWHERE T.T)

So all in all, I just want to give you guys an explanation about why this story won't be updated for what could be a long time. I will try to get in an update as soon as I can, but for right now I'm not in a good 'place' to write since I'm not feeling well and stuff. I just really hope you guys understand and I won't let this story die! I promise that!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: I already had this waiting incomplete so I completed it and it's like a going away present for you guys who have read/reviewed/faved/ and followed it! My departure date was pushed back to this weekend (I was originally supposed to lave on Thursday)...So I hope you guys like it and I'll try to fit in another update!  
P.S. I'd just like to say that I get a lot of my inspiration from an anime/manga called 'Black Butler' (right now I'm listening to the theme song) and I highly recommend it since both stories take place in Victorian England. Plus for those of you who do watch/read it I left a little Easter egg in the story XD

XxX

_The sun shone in the midday sky, showering a young boy with its nonexistent heat, making him turn his face up to the sky in bliss. The day was beautiful and he shared it with his younger brother whom was seated comfortably in the lush green grass, giggling every once in a while at his elder brother._

_"I wish we could stay like this forever, Reg!" The older sighed happily and turned to his brother with a smile that was as bright as the sun. Regulus nodded enthusiastically, even if the four-year old couldn't exactly understand what his brother was saying._

_"Forever!" He chirped and wiggled his toes in the grass, giggling again at the tickling sensation. The thirteen year old grinned widely at his younger brother and moved to carry him but a shout coming from their country house turned his attention to his father whom was coming out the door with a masked man._

_Sirius stood up and brushed the dirt of his clothing, trying to make himself more presentable to the man walking with his father. He greeted them with a cheerful smile that was not befitting of a Black._

_"Father?" He smiled, questioning his father's presence out of his office politely. Hoping that he didn't offend his semi-violent father. The Patriarch of the most notable and ancient House of Black's mouth was moving, but no words could be heard, Sirius cocked his head in question. He looked towards the hooded man when his father gesturedtowards him curtly._

_"Eh...?"_ _Sirius held out his hand so he could properly greet the mystery man, he put on his best smile._  
_"Nice to meet you, I'm Sirius Orion Bla-!" He stopped mid sentence when the man grabbed him harshly. It seemed that when the man touched the exposed skin on his arms, it burned the heir to the Black family so immensely that he let out a blood curdling scream of pain._

_"W-What is t-this...?" He gritted out and fell to his knees in pain, he looked up to his captor and tried to pull away from his grip. However, every time he attempted to pull away, the burning got worse and worse until Sirius feared that his arm was going to burn off._

_"S-Stop!" He yelled, looking towards his father whom was glaring at him coldly. Disheartened by his father's stone cold look, Sirius looked to the sky for some type of help of distraction to the pain. His eyes widened when he saw that the sky seemed to have deserted him also._

_A blood red moon leered at him in its sea of inky blackness, like a fresh blood drop that settled on the ground._

_He closed his eyes and when he reopened them, he was in a rusty metal cage, its likeness was that of an old birdcage. He sluggishly approached the bars, nearly throwing himself back when he saw the silhouettes of the hooded figures. Their obnoxious jeering pounded in his ears and he backed himself into the opposite side of the birdcage, which did absolutely nothing to shield himself from them._

_He wished to disappear than to resign himself to their hungry looks and wondering hands, feeling sick when he first noticed that his shirt seemed to be discarded._  
_"Get away from me! Get awa-Ah!" He screamed when he felt something absolutely scalding make contact with his middle back.  
"S-Stop it-gah!"  
_

"No!" Sirius yelled and sat up, wiping his sweat drenched face with the back of his shaking hand.  
"A-A nightmare...?" He questioned himself and surveyed his shaking body. He clenched his fist in annoyance and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Urgh...That again..." He sighed and cradled his head in his hands, steeling himself to stop the shaking.  
"After everything...I guess my work has yet to be finished, huh?" He spoke to himself softly, he decided to get ready for the day instead of risking falling asleep and having another bad dream.

"You're up early today, Sirius." A female worker Sirius had nicknamed Winky commented when he crossed the threshold between the parlor and the kitchen.

"I woke up earlier than usual, curse my internal clock and all its splendid wretchedness," Sirius joked and sat himself down at the breakfast table.

"Splendid indeed, milord." She winked at him playfully, her flirtatious (but harmless) attitude was what made him name her Winky. She had a troublesome habit of flirting with the male members of the Black Family, which included Sirius's nine-year old brother (much to his amusement). However, the teenage girl knew her boundaries and never acted out of turn when her mistress was in ear shot.

"Anyway, are you running errands today?" Sirius asked, smiling at his servant nicely.  
"After I'm done cleaning out the basement oven," Winky said with a troubled expression on her young face.  
"What troubles you so about the basement?" Sirius questioned with false concern, he had an inkling of what Winky was alluding to and it made his stomach twist.  
"It might be nothing but...Every time I go down there I just can't help but feel...like something bad happened there...the same with the room upstairs..." She looked down at her hands thoughtfully, Sirius felt a cold sweat break across his face.

"It's nothing I suppose, I'm just being silly...Ever since I noticed an odd smell and for an oven that hasn't been in use, there is a lot of ash to clean up." Winky laughed at herself, she turned to busy herself with cutting up vegetables for breakfast.

"I believe father likes to burn his paperwork, you know, to keep it out of the wrong hands and such. You know how paranoid he is when it comes to business." Sirius laughed convincingly.

"Oh yes! What did you need from the markets, Sirius?" Winky turned to face her master with a smile.  
"Thyme, I believe." Sirius said, hoping his servant wouldn't question him about it.  
"Nightmares?" She asked with concern, Sirius nodded solemnly.

"Regulus, poor boy...Don't ask him about it, he'll get embarrassed. Just give the thyme to me and I'll make him the tea to cure his nightmares." Sirius frowned and sighed, hoping she wouldn't catch on.

"Oh my! I'll get it right away for Master Regulus! Poor child, nightmares at his age are just the worst!" Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, I won't be joining the family for breakfast today, I'm heading straight for the Funeral Parlor to do some paperwork." Winky nodded and went back to her work while her master walked out the door and into the cold London air.

He couldn't help coughing, the fog was dense and the air was chilling and frigid. It wasn't exactly his favorite type of weather, bodies tended to stay fresher in these types of weather conditions.

"Didja 'ear 'bout the London Phantom?" He could hear two men chatting as he passed them, he couldn't help but smirk at their conversation.

"No, I don't think I 'ave...London Phantom? What's 'e all 'bout, Finny?" The man asked, spitting into the gutter as he did so.

"From what I 'ave been 'earing is...Somebody is snatchin' up all 'em business and noble folk. Ya 'member that ol' tax collecter?" Finny leaned close to him and looked over both shoulders, narrowing his eyes at Sirius whom had slowed his pace.

"Ramsay?" Finny nodded and leaned even closer to his friend.  
"'E killed 'em! Them missin' folk is been treated as if they've been killed by 'em! The Yard's been sayin' that the Phantom's killed more than ten people!"

"Ten people?" Finny's friend echoed in amazement, while the other nodded.  
"I don't mind 'em, but," Finny glanced at Sirius again as the Black pretended to bend over and fix his shoes.  
"I 'ope 'e gives 'em Blacks what they deserve...Been terrorizing this part o' the end for too long." He mumbled quietly to his friend. Sirius quickly placed a palm over his mouth and tried to pass it off as a cough, but it was too late.

"Whatchoo laughin' at?!" The more outspoken of the two nearly shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at the noble Black.

"S-Sorry sir! He's h-had too much to drink!" Finny's friend apologized and shoved his friend to shush him, Finny looked back at him with a glare.

"I ain't 'fraid of no Black! 'Specially one 'ike 'em!" The man yelled while his friend was pushing him away from the Noble. Sirius couldn't help but chuckle again, he just found it quite ironically funny.

Shaking his head, he resumed his walk to work. When he finally came to his place of business, he was surprised to see his young employee standing by the door with a fixed expression of determination on his face. Sirius cocked a regal brow in question but didn't voice his question, to him that expression looked rather endearing to say the least.

"Glad to see you're on time," Sirius commented as he unlocked the place.  
"I didn't know when the Funeral parlor opened so I came as soon as I could." He offered meekly, having no knowledge of carrying on a conversation with a noble, a rather important one at that.

"Well, I hope I didn't keep you waiting long...Out of curiosity, how long have you been out here?" Sirius questioned when he noticed the redness on Remus's cheeks and nose.

"Since sunrise, sir." Sirius turned to look at him, this time more closely than before. Remus fidgeted in discomfort, he felt like a boy whom had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He barely managed to keep a racking cough from his employer, however, said employer could see that he wasn't in the best shape.

"Hm, if I sent you back home you probably would just fall over...Tell me, do you have any sort of lung disease, Remus?" The noble questioned as he ushered the cold boy into his shop. He steered Remus to the sofa in the client area and made it a point to drape a blanket over him and start the fire.

"I've...Never been to a doctor before, sir." Remus confessed, it wasn't rare for someone like him to never go to the clinic. Most people his age probably have never thought twice about feeling a wee bit under the weather.

"Hm," Sirius hummed in response as he dusted off his hands and rolled down his sleeves. If it were James, for example, Sirius would've dragged the Potter kicking and screaming down to the clinic (usually the Noble was there bothering his beloved anyway) and he had no doubt James would do the same. However, this was different. Not only would Remus feel out of his element, but the doctors had no time for children like him, after all children were usually seen and not heard. He knew that the doctors would either turn him away or just tell him he was fine.

"I'm fine sir! Really, if I could just-!" Remus tried standing, but as soon as he was halfway up he felt his legs gave way and he was sent back on the couch with a 'plop'.  
"I'll call for Madam Pomfrey, she has a couple of favors she owes me..." With that Sirius left the Parlor and came back a few minutes later with an agitated middle aged woman.

Madam Pomfrey was a slight woman, she had average looks and had a rather annoyed look on her face. However, Remus could see that she was rather pretty for her age instead of the wrinkly prune-like shop owners that neighbored Sirius's parlor.

"What is wrong?" She sighed and stalked towards the fifteen year old, Remus tried to sit up a little straighter but ended up leaning his back against the sofa.

"He's been out in the cold for over an hour and he very nearly collapsed just a moment ago." Sirius explained as he paced back and forth.

"I'm fine! Sorry to frighten you!" Remus apologized, trying not to flinch when Pomfrey placed a hand on his forehead.

"I believe he just has a cold, just let him rest for a bit and he'll be good as new!" She poked his cheek and ruffled his brown hair.

"Thank you very much," Sirius smiled in relief.  
"Oh and before I forget, here is your medicine Sirius...Knowing you, I'd like to think you forgot." She produced a glass jar filled with a creamy white substance from her dress pocket. She handed the jar to him and Sirius eyed it with apprehension, it caught Remus off guard to see such a foreign expression on his employers face.

"Ah, thank you...I had forgotten, well I'll just put this in my office." Sirius fake smiled and trudged into his office. Pomfrey smiled at Remus before stooping down to whisper something to him.

"You must be special, he only calls on me when his precious brother is sick." Remus peered at her oddly.  
"I do not think so, I'm just a worker after all." She smiled at him knowingly.  
"Of course, I'm just over thinking things. Well, if you ever need anything just come down to the apothecary shop and I might be able to help you." Pomfrey said and turned to walk out the door seeing as her work there was finished.

"Um, excuse me!" She turned to face Remus once again.  
"Yes?" Remus looked rather uncomfortable and refused to look the madam in her blue eyes.  
"I was just...Hoping that perhaps you could...Do you have medicine for...I do believe it was Consumption...?" Pomfrey looked at the boy with sadness in her eyes.

"Consumption...? Is this ailing person wasting away?" She asked carefully, Remus averted his eyes but nodded nonetheless.

"Ah, I see...I believe I have some medicines to 'ease' the pain of such an illness, I'll give it to you after you have done resting here. Sirius is a kind man, he'll send you home and you can get the medicine then." She promised and ruffled his hair once again before letting herself out. Not a moment later Sirius came back to the client area.

"I have a sofa in my office, you can rest there. I have a client whom is coming in an hour's time." The noble helped the poor East Ender into his office and laid him on the sofa.

"Once you've rested, you can go home. I have some business to deal with this afternoon so I hope you can forgive me not walking you home." Sirius said, Remus scowled.

"I'm not a girl!" He growled before coughing, it must've been the cold that made him talk to his employer like that, but the coddling was only making him feel worse. It made him feel worthless and a burden, it wasn't Sirius job to baby him.

"Remus, I'm only trying to hel-" The brunette swiftly cut him off.  
"No! Don't baby me like I'm some worthless child who doesn't know how to do anything! In fact, I should be the one coddling you! I work for you so...so let me take care of you!" Remus immediately shut his mouth and blushed in embarrassment.

"I...I shouldn't have spoken out of turn...I'm s-sorry!" Remus glanced at his stunned employer. He felt stupid, he had just thrown Sirius's hospitality and kindness in his face. He just hoped that he wouldn't be fired.

Needless to say, it was his turn to be stunned when Sirius embraced him and carded a gentle hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry," he cooed, sending Remus into a mixture between confusion and mental panic.  
"Um...Excuse me?" He tried, but only got a chuckle in response.  
"Remus...I...Just can't help but want to take care of you...I know it sounds...Odd, but I just want to protect you!" It was Sirius's turn to blush in embarrassment, but he wanted to make sure that Remus knew he meant every word.

"I...Ah..." Remus stuttered out before he promptly fainted.  
"...Remus...?" Sirius shook the boy gently, he guessed the combination of the cold and...Shock made the poor boy pass out. He laid him back down and crossed to his desk and picked up his own jar of medicine. Faintly, he touched his lower and back and felt a little sick.

"I hope I didn't...Scare him." He mused aloud and fixed his expression to one of pleasant compassion as he heard his door open and close.

XxX

It was nearing closing time when Remus awoke, he was feeling better than before and was ready to stay late and do whatever task Sirius was going to give him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, he peered downward and very nearly fainted again. His employer was in a kneeling position with his head resting on the cushions where Remus's head had just been laying.

"S-sir...?" He heard his employer grumble and pleasantly look up as if waking from a blissful dream.  
"Ah, Remus? I think I might've dosed off as well...I didn't get any sleep last night." He smiled and stood up, extending a hand to his employee. Remus took it hesitantly and stood up, stretching alongside his boss.

"I think we should close, no one comes in at the last hour anyway unless they want to start trouble." Sirius remembered the incident with his cousin and rolled his eyes, Remus found himself agreeing.

"I feel a lot better now, sir. I can walk home, but I need to pick up something from the apothecary next door." Sirius nodded absentmindedly and started to gather his things, making sure to put the jar in his pocket.

"Sir...Do you mind if I...Ask about the medicine?" Remus gestured towards the jar of cream, Sirius stilled and seemed to be thinking it over.

"No," he said monotonously, much to Remus's surprise.  
"Ah...um...I'll just be going then...Sir." Remus padded over to the door and opened it.  
"A...Burn...I got burned from something stupid in my school days." Sirius lied, Remus felt something was off and turned to give him a small smile. The distraught look on Sirius's face caught him off guard.

"I hope it gets better, sir." He said and turned around again, but like before he was stopped by Sirius.  
"Your pay..." He coughed out and placed a small bag of gold coins that fit snugly in Remus's palm.  
"Thank you." With that Remus quickly escaped the awkward atmosphere and walked into Madam Pomfrey's medicinal shop.

She smiled at him behind the counter and gestured for him to come forward.  
"Here you go young lad, everything you need to treat your family member." Remus nodded in thanks and handed her three golden coins from his pouch.

"No no no! This is free! I have customers from nobility and doctors! There's no need to give me money Remus, I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart and a favor from Mr. Black." She handed the coins back to him and paused before she told him to wait.

"I don't think you've ever tried this before," she handed him a rectangular object wrapped in paper, the words 'FUNTOM COMPANY' printed on it with bold, curvy black font.

"Not as good as Honeydukes, but right now it's the rage with the children." She chuckled and left to attend to another customer.

Remus tucked the rectangular object into his pocket along with the medicine and walked home. Once he was there he let himself in and wasted no time in giving his mother her medicine, after she fell asleep almost immediately. Now, Remus turned to the sweet in his pocket and opened it carefully. He sniffed it and was pleasantly surprised to notice that it smelled rather nice, then he took a tentative bite. Not only was the sweet tasty, but it lifted his mood and he found that enjoyed it very much.

"Chocolate...?" Remus read off the package, he liked how the word felt on his tongue alongside it's melty and sweet counterpart.

XxX

_Knock-knock-Knock_

"Mr. Black, Dobby is happy to see you again!" The young boy chirped and let the Noble into the townhouse without hesitation.  
"Is James almost ready?" He asked the house servant politely, Dobby nodded enthusiastically.  
"Yes, Master James will be right down!" He said, but after five minutes of no James, Sirius decided to take care of it himself.

He trudged up the stairs and opened James's door. Though, the event that happened the last time Sirius had barged into the room didn't happen, Sirius couldn't help but sigh.

"Don't look at me like that!" James snapped and tried to flatten his hair.  
"You are a love-sick fool..." Sirius commented dryly.  
"Like you are one to talk! Mr. I-love-my-poor-employee!" James said and sighed in defeat when his hair wouldn't cooperate with him.

"Are we going down to the clinic today or not?" Sirius asked impatiently, tapping his foot against the floorboards.  
"Yes yes! Now stop doing that!" James grabbed his friend's elbow and lead him down the stairs and past a chirping Dobby.

They made small talk during their walk to the clinic where James's beloved volunteered at, the walk wasn't very long since they made great haste, Sirius in anticipation and James with a sense of dread.

"Well, we are here..." Sirius commented as they stopped to look around.  
"I suppose so..." James agreed and walked into the clinic, making sure to avoid anything that look contagious and/or gory.

It wasn't hard to pick out Lily amongst the countless other ladies milling about, trying to help as many patients as they can. She had a head of beautiful red hair and she had a pair of the most stunning green eyes. Sirius mused that the girl was perfect in every way except for one, she was born a commoner. When she had been a tiny tot, the influential Evans family had adopted the poor child. With that adoption, not only had they been practically shut out from most events that dealt with Royalty and nobility, but most of the Evans despised the poor red headed Lily. One of her most passionate dissenters was her own sister, Petunia. The woman hated her sister so much that being in the same room as her and Lily was toxic. Sirius had to feel sorry for the poor girl, all she ever did was be adopted into an otherwise loving family. Though, he also assumed that from what he's seen of the Evans, Lily's mother and father cared for her a great deal, more than her spiteful sister Petunia anyway.

"Lily pad?!" James called out, immediately the girl whipped around and fixed him with an exasperated glare.  
"What do you want James?" She asked tiredly, her eyes widened a fraction when she took notice of Sirius beside him.  
"We're here concerning someone named John Lupin, it's very important." Sirius butted in, much to Lily's displeasure.

"John Lupin? What do you want with him?" Lily asked cautiously.  
"If he owes you anything then I'll pay it off myself or something..." Sirius waved his hand in dismissal.  
"Not anything like that...I'm trying to locate him for a friend. It's his father." Lily nodded.  
"I might be able to find him, but I'm not sure...What's in it for me?" She grinned mischievously.

"My undying love and affection?" James chirped and held out his arms.  
"No thank you..." She uttered and fixed her attention on Sirius and not the moping Nobleman.  
"What do you want?" Sirius asked cautiously, Lily put her finger to her chin in thought.  
"I want you to hand out my suffrage pamphlets to your customers and volunteer here at least once a week." She said smiling innocently.

"No." Sirius automatically replied with, Lily shrugged.  
"That's okay, I don't think I even know what you guys are talking about...I mean if I'm too stupid to vote than I'm too stupid to help you." She smiled and turned to James.  
"I guess I'm also too stupid to remember that date we planned tomorrow. Sorry! Teehee..." James blanched.

"Deal!" He cried out, Sirius turned to him and nearly smacked him in the head with his hand.  
"You love-sick fool!" He yelled, but turned to Lily when she cleared her throat.

"John Lupin is a homeless man whom usually deals business near Madam Malkin's shop...I should know...I treat his stab wounds usually." She offered and turned away to deal with a patient, leaving James and Sirius to their own devices.

"Sirius...?" James asked gingerly.  
"Let's go."

XxX

By the time Sirius and James made it to where Lily had specified, it was already very dark. However, Sirius would not be swayed by darkness nor danger, much to James displeasure and discomfort.  
"I don't think this is a good idea..." He muttered for the third time since their walk to this place.  
"We're finding him no matter what...I have to." Sirius replied with, James groaned and followed close behind. He usually got uncomfortable when Sirius mentioned the Underworld, it was something that he was ashamed of admitting that resided in the posh world of Nobility. That shame kept him and his family from resorting to their cruel tactics of gaining power and status, he was fine with the idea of coming from a not too rich and not too poor household thank you very much.

"Oi! You two, why 're you two sneakin' round here?" A voice scared them nearly half to death, Sirius turned around and saw a man walking towards them.  
He was staggering, as if he just walked out of a pub. Even from the distance Sirius was from the man, he could still smell the reek of alcohol, it made his head spin.

"We're looking for a man named John Lupin..." James piped up and squeaked when Sirius elbowed him. The man hobbled closer to them.

"Why? You got business with 'em?" James shook his head frantically.  
"Buyin'?" He asked again, this time Sirius nodded.  
"What do you have?" He asked in an authoritative tone.  
"Opium...Cheap, but opium nonetheless." He said and gestured to his pocket.

"So...You are John?" The man nodded, grinning and showing off his foul teeth.  
"Can we make this deal in a more...Lit place? I can't see a thing." Sirius asked, John nodded and staggered over to a gas lamp. Once he was fully under the light's gaze, Sirius gawked in surprise. The man looked like an older, haggard and uglier version of Remus!

"May I ask you some questions?" Sirius inquired thoughtfully, the man nodded.  
"Do you know someone by the name of Remus?" The man shook his head.  
"Dunno, I don't keep up with people outside the End." He replied, Sirius could feel something breaking inside of him slowly.

"...You don't know your son? Remus Lupin?" He tried again, this time the man laughed.  
"Son? I think I know whatcha mean but I ain't some sap whom stays with a girl! I'm a love 'em and leave 'em type of guy!" He laughed, Sirius ducked his head and began to utter a mirthless laughter that scared his friend.

"Kid could die for all I care, his mother to! Must've been a whore if I slept with 'er!" He spat and glared at Sirius.  
"James...Get out of here..." Sirius hissed and shoved his friend towards the road.  
"But Sirius!" He protested.  
"If you don't want to become a part of the Underworld, then leave right now!" James glanced at him one more time and took off towards his home.

"I should kill you for what you said..." Sirius laughed at John. The man laughed back at him mockingly.  
"You? You're just a kid yourself, Black." Sirius narrowed his eyes and reached into his sleeve.

"One last chance, do you even care about your son, Remus, or not?" The man shook his head and laughed wildly.  
"I wish that kid died before he entered this world! I don't know 'em but hopefully he dies before I get to!" The thing inside of him broke completely and he launched himself at the man, slashing and stabbing him until pools of blood gushed onto the street.

Sirius made sure to stab him everywhere and cause the most pain possible. The eyes, the arms, the legs, everything that he could reach until finally the man fell over choked on his own blood. By the time Sirius was done, the man's eyes were gouged out and what was left dribbled on his blood stained cheeks. A flap made itself apparent on his throat and Sirius could see the veins still pumping blood out of his body and the bones that supported the neck. The man was very nearly decapitated and only hanging by a pathetic piece of skin and sinew.

"W-what...Did I just do...?" Sirius looked at his handiwork fearfully, the first time he regarded it as disgusting.  
"I just killed...Remus's father..." Sirius bent over and vomited, he couldn't believe that he had just done what he did. He wondered how Remus would find out and swear vengeance or if Remus would even care.

He decided that getting home was way more important than thinking about that. He was dreading the day to come and the explanation he would have to give James when he questioned him about this.

XxX


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello again dear readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
P.S. GOT INTERNET! oh yeah and the term 'Muggle-lover' is used in this story as one who associates/loves commoners. It's a derogatory term in Nobility, as is the word 'Blood-traitor' would be someone who marries or overly associates with the common folk. For example James would practically be a Blood-traitor since he is 'dating' Lily Evans since not only was she born a commoner but her family is shunned and deemed as 'Blood-traitors', ruining their status in Nobility.  
NOTE: I'm sorry if I wasn't clear with the ages!  
Sirius and James are 18 years old  
Remus is 15 years old  
Regulus is 9 years old  
Lily is 16  
Bellatrix and her Death Eater friends are above the age of 19.  
WARNING: There is mentions of rape in this chapter! In no way do I think rape is acceptable, it's a heinous and horrible act!

XxX

When Remus woke up, he'd like to think that the birds were chirping and this would be the perfect day, but like usual he was wrong. Storm clouds were adrift in London and he be damned if it didn't rain, not only were the storm clouds swirling outside, but Remus had his own rain cloud to deal with,

For starters, he decided that knowing the truth about his father was important, not only for him but for his mother as well. Speaking of his mother, her health was worsening day by day and it pained her son to think that someday soon she'll be gone. He tried not to think about it, but this was another of the growing reasons why Remus had to find his father.

"Mum?" Remus peeked his head to her room and smiled when he saw that she was awake.  
"Yes, Remus?" She asked, padding her hand on the spot next to her. Remus walked into the room and sat beside his mother, wondering how he was going to ask his mother about something she never talked about.

"...How did you meet Father?" His mother stared at him for the longest time, an unreadable emotion in her eyes.  
"Let's see...It was a long time ago..." She started off and stopped just as abruptly as she started.  
"Why do you want to know this, Remus?" Remus avoided her eyes.

"I...Want to meet him." His mother hummed in response, Remus fiddled with his hands in nervousness.  
"I meet him when I was a little girl, he was quite famous in _our _part of London. He was like the Robin Hood of the East End, he stole from the rich Nobles and gave to those he favored here in the End." She explained, immediately Remus began to picture a humble and caring man.

"I fell in love with him and he began to court me, but I was just a child. I believe I was your age when I had you Remus..." She began to cry which shocked her son.

"Mum?! Are you alright?" She shook her head and clung to her only son.  
"J-Just remembering everything...I just miss him so much!" She lied and hugged him.  
"Why did he leave?" Remus asked tentatively.  
"He-he just...There are some types of people out there w-who just...Leave."  
"Leave...?" Remus echoed like a child, his mother nodded.  
"Your father was just a drifter..."  
"Do you think I can find him?" Remus's mother hesitated.  
"If you really want to meet him, then I can't stop you." She smiled and patted his head.

"Thanks mum!" Remus smiled brightly and hugged her, completely unaware of the terrified look in his mother's eyes.

Once she heard the slamming of the door, she collapsed into a fit of tears, hoping with all her might that Remus, would never have to look upon the monster that was his father. The monster who raped her and brought a poor son to this wicked world.

XxX

Feeling considerably lighter, Remus walked to the Black Funeral Parlor smiling, despite the storm clouds the swirled angrily above his head. Walking at a comfortable pace, Remus wondered idly why Sirius and his family lived so close to the poorest part of London while other Nobles lived near Queen Victoria in Buckingham Palace and other fancy places in London.

He shrugged and opened the door to Sirius's Funeral Parlor.

"Don't be such a Bastard Black!" A man in a black hood snarled while slamming a vase down on the floor. Sirius looked unfazed by all of this and yawned.

"For the last time, no. Leave my shop or I will call in the police!" Sirius sighed, the other hooded figure, Remus could faintly tell it was a woman, laughed.

"The Police? Don't make me laugh cousin!" The door opening and closing seemed to grab her attention and she turned to face a startled Remus.

"Is this your new employee? My, isn't he just a cute little boy!" She sneered and waltzed over to him. Remus could see that Sirius stiffened and was about to grab his cousin but he was stopped by the man whom was talking earlier.

"Yaxley, I'll kill you if you don't get out of my way!" Sirius snarled in a voice that disturbed Remus. The man, Yaxley, snorted in laughter.

"I don't doubt that!" Instead, he tripped Sirius, sending the noble to the floor and raising red flags for Remus.

"What...?!" Sirius's cousin laughed and latched onto the fifteen year old boy.  
"What a poor little boy," She squished his cheeks in her long spindly fingers.

"It's just like my cousin to take advantage of a little boy," Sirius got up and launched himself at his cousin.  
"Let go of him you bitch!" He yelled and slapped her. The room went quiet for a long moment and Remus felt that he too would be hit if he even made a sound. It unnerved him to see Sirius so out of sorts, the man was usually calm and collected.

His cousin cracked a crazed smile and let out a deranged laugh that chilled Remus's blood. Immediately she let go with a smirk.

"It's ironic to see that the heir of 'The Most Notable and Ancient House of Black' cares only about common trash." Remus felt like he should be insulted, but to be honest he was too frightened to counter her.  
"You're wrong, you and all those other sick bastards are trash! Get out of my shop or else I'll throw you out!" Sirius yelled and grabbed the closest object to him, which was a jar of embalming liquid.

"You'll regret this, Sirius Black! Mark my words you Muggle-lover!" She laughed and walked to the door, narrowly avoiding the jar of embalming liquid that was aimed at her head and chuckled when she heard it shatter on the wall.

"Yaxley, let's go." She beckoned and he followed, slamming the door on their way out.

"W-who are they, Sirius...?" Remus asked, trying to conceal his shaking.  
"J-just troublemakers and...Friends of my father. There's nothing to worry about...For now." Sirius added under his breath. He turned around to go to his office and came back with the shop key, he locked the door from the inside and pocketed the brass key.

"There's not much we can do today, with the shop being as vandalized as it is. I'll help you with the cleaning since it will probably take us all day." Sirius sighed and began to pick up the broken shards of the jar he threw at his cousin.

"Yes sir," Remus agreed and did his part in cleaning up the shop. While Remus was wiping the embalming liquid from the floor he couldn't help but notice that Sirius was rather capable at cleaning.

"There's more to being a Noble than being a layabout with money." Sirius said cheekily making Remus blush with embarrassment.

"I-I wasn't I mean I didn't...I um...sorry sir?" Remus sputtered and ended with a meek apology, he couldn't help but flinch when Sirius let out his signature barking laughter.

"No need to get all flustered, it seems everyone is shocked to see such a young, unmarried and capable Noble...Well I suppose the same could be said for James but he cannot even wake up in the morning with Dobby there to help him." Remus chuckled at that, the only 'good' nobles he had come into contact with were Philanthropist who took children off the streets and put them into workhouses or orphanages so that they could brag to their friends and rub their good deeds into the public's face.

"You know, I'm going to share a little secret with you..." Sirius drew closer to Remus face and put his lips up to his ear.  
"Everyone hates my family." This didn't exactly shock the East Ender, he had heard rumors about the Black Family. He heard that they disliked fraternizing with the Commoners, yet they 'terrorized' the East End and all those who inhabited it.

"Why?" Remus asked, sensing that he already knew the answer.  
"Because my lot aren't exactly good and I'm going to go ahead and get to the point of this conversation...Stay away from my Family and the Noble Families of Lestrange and Malfoy." Remus nodded, he knew about the Malfoys and from what he had heard about them, they were bad news all around.

"No need to tell me twice," Remus said and began his cleaning efforts again before a crashing sound echoed around the parlor. The brunette turned around and looked at his employer with wide-eyes.

"Sirius!" Remus yelled out and rushed to him as the older cradled his injured hand.  
"I'm sorry for scaring you, I just..." Sirius trailed off as Remus carefully brushed off the broken shards of glass on his knuckles.

"Now we have to clean up more and your hand is bleeding, why on Earth would you punch a mirror and an antique one at that!?" Remus questioned as he looked around for a cloth to wrap his employer's hand.

"I'm just not feeling well...I think it would be best if we clean up and resume business as usual tomorrow." Remus nodded and took off his jacket and wrapped his employer's hand with it.  
"I agree, sir...I don't want you hurting yourself again." Remus blushed and averted his eyes, subconsciously holding onto Sirius's injured hand tightly.

"Well, let's get to it." Sirius smiled and Remus realized what he was doing.  
"Uh...Sorry!" Remus retracted his hand like it was burnt and looked down, too embarrassed to look at the older. Sirius smiled, the younger was terribly endearing, it made his heart ache a little just looking at him.

Soon the day was done and Remus said his goodbyes and left the parlor with tired eyes. Sirius did the same, however, there was hidden rage in his eyes as he was going to confront the man whom made his life a living hell for eighteen years.

XxX

A/N: This chapter was kind of ...Not really focused? Either way I hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks to all whom read it and like it!


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: Hello again readers! This is the chapter I've been waiting for sooo long to write! That's right folks! Sirius's back story! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it! Thank you!

As always, WARNING:...Torture, child abuse...And this is where the horror of the story comes in to play.

XxX

Sirius walked home with a sense of impending doom, he hadn't felt this way ever since his days at Hogwarts when he would come home during the holidays. Once he got to his door, he took a deep breath and opened it quietly. He stepped into the hallway and squared his shoulders and made sure that his expression was the mask he used when he carried out his judgments. To show emotion was to show weakness, and Sirius promised himself that he would never look weak again.

Winky poked her head out of the doorway to the kitchen, she saw his face and frowned in concern.  
"Master Sirius?" She called out, but he chose to ignore her. She shot him an uneasy look and went back to the kitchen on cat's feet.

Again, Sirius sighed in barely hid anxiety and made his way to his father's study. As he was walking down the hallway that seemed to stretch on forever, he started to hear a horrible laughter that rang in his ears. Jeering, cackling, malicious laughter that Sirius had not heard in over five years.

"...Shut up..." He hissed quietly as he clutched his head and leaned against the wall for support. The laughter did not quiet in the least, in fact it got louder.

"I said...Shut...Up..." Sirius grit his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, now the laughing had turned into sickening screeching that gave him a headache.

"I said shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Sirius bellowed loudly and his knees gave in under him and he fell to the floor in a heap, tears of frustration and pain fell down his face in tracks.

"What is all the noise!?" A voice broke through the screeching and Sirius looked up at his savior and very nearly fainted. His father was standing over him intimidatingly, scrutinizing him with piercing gray eyes. Sirius began to shake in anger and he could see the red haze coming over him.

"You...It was all your...Fault." Sirius whispered as he shakily stood up and placed a hand on the wall for support. He bowed his head, hiding his face with his dark hair.

"Speak up louder boy, and why are you crying? Aren't you a man? Men don't cry." His father spat at him like he was common trash.

"Your...Fault...Your...Fault...It was all your fault!" Sirius screamed at his bewildered father.  
"I was tortured and-and abused!" At this point Sirius started to claw at his clothes and didn't speak again until his shirt was off and he pointed to the middle of his back.

"This was all your fault! You let them take me! You let them hurt me! I'm your son! Does that count for anything?!" Sirius yelled and shoved his father to the floor where he punched him hard in the face.

"I'll kill you! I swear to God, I'll kill you!" One of the older male servants grabbed Sirius by his middle by this point. Sirius struggled to get out of the servant's grip, but when it was apparent that he couldn't he stopped his struggling and hid his face with his hair. He didn't want anyone to see him crying such ugly tears.

"I...Am your son...How could...You...? Your own...Flesh and...Blood...?" Sirius whispered quietly, but it seemed that his father could hear him.

"I have no idea what you're going on about!" He yelled at his son.

"You wanted them to...Kill me...You wanted me...Dead...Your own...Son...Dead..." He trailed off and felt something connect with the back of his head. His eyesight dimmed and he blacked out.

XxX

_"You will be going with this man, Sirius." The Patriarch of the Black Family gestured towards a hooded man. A thirteen year old Sirius surveyed him for a moment and offered out his hand in greeting, but the man made no move to shake hands. Sirius slowly retracted his hand and sat back in his chair, a sick feeling overwhelmed him._

_"May I ask why father? School is only a few days away after all." Sirius gingerly asked his father._  
_"Don't question me child! I said you'll be going with him, didn't I make myself clear?" He snarled at his son and turned his back on him. Sirius sank further back in his chair and averted his eyes to the ground. He gazed at the study's red colored wood that had scrap marks from the chair._

_"Is that all, Mr. Black?" The hooded man asked, obviously wanting to leave this man's presence with his son. Sirius's father nodded solemnly, no hint of emotion on his face._

_"Well then, let us be going Sirius." The man said in a mock voice of kindness, he grabbed Sirius's hand roughly and pulled him up._

_"But father! I didn't pack or anything!" Sirius called out as he was being pulled through the study doors._

_"You don't need to, little prince." The man sneered at him._  
_"Where we're going, there's a huge palace waiting for you and more clothes than you will ever need." Sirius looked up at him to see if he was being serious._

_"Really?" Sirius asked, feeling a little better._  
_"Of course." The man snickered. He pushed Sirius into a carriage and made sure to lock the door from the outside._  
_  
"Have a nice ride, little prince." He jeered and climbed on top of the carriage and took the reigns of the horses in his hands._

_Sirius sat on the seat and watched as the scenery went by. He was beginning to get bored until finally the carriage stopped, they had been on the road for a day so far, Sirius could tell because it was already dark when they stopped at a rather old mansion._

_"Behold little prince! Your new palace, or as it is properly known; The Riddle's Abandoned Mansion!" He laughed as he unlocked the door and pulled Sirius roughly out of the carriage and shoved him to the door of the large, forsaken mansion._

_"This is where I'll be living...?" Sirius asked skeptically. The man nodded and pulled him through the rotting doors of the large estate."This...Place...?" Sirius began but something was pulled onto his head and covered his eyes and mouth. The fabric was scratchy, and it tightened around his throat._

_"What's going on?!" Sirius tried to shout and pull whatever was on his head off, but before he could he felt something hit his head. He fell to the ground and groaned in pain._

_"S-Stop!" He yelled again, but the object hit his head again and he blacked out._

_The next he awoke, he was in a dark dungeon like room that had no windows and a door._  
_"Hello...?" He called out into the darkness uneasily, fear started to creep into his head and heart as the darkness seemed suffocating._

_"Please! Somebody!" He called out again, he crawled towards the door and put his ear to it. It was deathly silent until he heard heavy footsteps. Sirius gasped and shut his eyes, trying to not make a sound._

_To his relief, the footsteps stopped but not even a few minutes later, a horrible pain filled screaming began. Sirius began to cry in panic once he heard actual words coming from the person whom was screaming._  
_  
"Stop! Please, leave me alone! I-I don't want to die! Please! N-No! NO!" Sirius hid his face when he realized that it was child probably no older than him begging for mercy. He heard jeering laughter and a big 'NO' coming from what seemed to be a chorus of people and then a loud suffering filled scream that chilled Sirius to the very bones. After the scream, there was no more sound accept for a few people talking._

_"I can't wait for next week's show...!" A man chattered excitedly._  
_"I heard it's a surprise, maybe some kid from nobility?" The other guessed._  
_"Probably..." Sirius could hear no more of their conversation._

_Sirius crawled into a corner and pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, crying into them. What was this place? Was he going to die here?_

_It seemed like forever until the doors finally opened, by now it had been several days since Sirius's arrival into this Hell on Earth and he had only been fed every three days and given enough water to sustain his body functions. Somehow Sirius knew that if he wasn't so 'important' to these people, he probably would have died of dehydration days ago._

_"Little prince, it's your time to shine!" The same man from before sneered and grabbed Sirius by his bony arm. Before, Sirius would have struggled, but now he was too weak to even walk correctly._

_He was taken onto a stage of sorts, it was well lit but very messy. Red puddles were everywhere_ _and to Sirius's horror he could see a pile of bodies being stacked at the far end of the stage. The next thing that he noticed was a stone altar that had candles on it. He was strapped onto it with leather straps and left there while the members of the audience gawked at him with cold eyes._

_"Let's start the bidding at 1000 pounds!" Sirius's eyes widened and he started to cry and struggle._  
_"Oh he's lively! Now this one has a special place in our circus and whoever bids the most gets to do whatever they like with him at the end of the circus!" The announcer boomed._

_"2000!"_  
_"3000!"_  
_Sirius closed his eyes as the bidding went up further and further until finally no one was willing to go higher._

_"Now, without further ado; our Death Circus!" Sirius was unstrapped and shoved into a cage with other terrified and shaking children. Most of them were either poor or runaways, kids that wouldn't be missed._

_"First off I would like to present our Dagger throwing contest!" Two men approached the cage and took out a flailing and crying child that had to be at least a year younger than Sirius. They strapped him onto a circus wheel* and blindfolded him._

_"Now we need a volunteer from the audience!" Several people started screaming 'chose me!' and they finally became quiet when someone was chosen._  
_They watched in rapt attention as the man was blindfolded also and was given five daggers to throw._  
_  
Sirius held his breath as the man took his place and got ready to throw a dagger. The room was silent except for the broken sobbing of the child on the wheel, it seemed like everyone was holding their breath._

_A pain-filled scream echoed throughout the room as the dagger made it's mark._  
_Sirius closed his eyes tightly as he heard another scream, but this one resonated in the cage. He opened his eyes and glanced to his side. A younger boy was crying loudly, he had his eyes shut and his skin was pale with fear._

_"B-brother...? They...killed my brother!" He kept whispering to himself. Sirius looked to the gory display and noticed that the child up there was still breathing and crying._

_"Colin!" The younger boy kept crying into his hands as another tormented scream erupted from the poor child. The crowd cheered in satisfaction as another dagger made it's mark on the boy's chest. To the relief of Sirius and the younger boy, the last two missed and the boy was unstrapped and flopped to the floor._

_"Oi, he's still breathing." One of the attendants said, the announcer turned ringmaster sighed in irritation._  
_"Well, why don't you 'fix' him up." He said and nodded towards the wing of the stage. The attendant nodded and dragged the lifeless body towards the wing of the stage._

_"Colin!" The boy called out once again, but all that was heard in reply was a sickening crunch._

_"Next up our fire breather!" With a flourish of his arm, the announcer gestured to a man that was stepping out of the opposite wing. At the same time another child was taken out of the cage, crying uncontrollably as the attendants doused him with oil from a gas lamp that was hanging on the wall. The man that would act as the fire breather filled his mouth with flammable liquid and lit a torch that was handed to him._

_The child trembled, frozen in fear as the man approached him and breathed out his deadly fire. The boy screamed in agony as the flames set his body on fire. He ran this way and that, trying in vain to put out the fire that lit up the room. Finally, after so many terrible screams, the torch of a boy collapsed to the ground and didn't move anymore._

_"What a show! What a show!" The ringmaster clapped his hands as did the audience. Sirius clenched his eyes closed once again, he didn't want to see anymore children die in such horrible ways._

_The number of children in the cage depleted as the macabre circus of death went on until the last two children were pulled out of the cage. The boy whom had lost his brother earlier on did not put up a struggle as he was taken to participate in the next sick act. The other child had quietly watched in horror and it seemed that he to had accepted his fate.  
"Now, the daring act before the finale! The tightrope!" The ringmaster said with much excitement, there was an excited murmuring in the crowd that made Sirius's stomach twist._

_Sirius felt stupid for not noticing it earlier, but above his head was a long rope connected to two platforms that were above the wings of the stage. One attendant accompanied each child to the platform and the crowd grew silent._

_"First off will be Mr. Creevey! Go on, show them how 'talented' you are!" The ringmaster prodded, but Creevey did not move an inch. It finally took one of the attendants to force him to walk the rope with threats of worse things to come if he didn't end his life there._

_Creevey was shaking as he took his first tentative steps on the rope, Sirius closed his eyes in fear and anxiety. When he heard no sickening splat, he opened them again and saw that Creevey was holding onto the rope for dear life with his arms and legs._

_"A little stage fright! That's quite alright!" The ringmaster chuckled, the audience followed suit._  
_"Next we have a child named Seamus Finnigan! A grand sounding name!" The same treatment was applied to the sandy blonde haired child and he ended up the same way as Creevey. Holding for dear life upside down._

_"Now, now! That won't do at all! We'll never get to the finale like this! Boys, if you will?" Confused, Sirius watched as the attendants took something out of their pocket. To his horror, Sirius could see that they had knives in their hands._

_"They're gonna cut the rope!" Sirius couldn't help but gasp in shock. He shut his eyes tight as he heard the rope snap and both boys scream. A few seconds later, two loud cracks were heard and Sirius simultaneously burst into terrified tears._

_"Now time for the little prince of our circus..." The ringmaster turned to Sirius with a malicious glint in his eyes. The attendants approached him and opened the cage, they grabbed his shaking body and began to strip him of his clothes. Now naked, Sirius tried his best to hide his body from prying eyes, but it was futile._

_"To commemorate this circus, we've decided to give our little prince something to remember us by!" The ringmaster disappeared for a few minutes but came back with a brand that had snakes coming out of a skull. Sirius tried to struggle against the attendants but that to, was futile._

_"Before I go on, some of you probably recognize this child," the ringmaster said in a sing-song voice._  
_"His father is a very influential man and he's tasked us the job of 'taking care of' his son. Because you see, this child was a mistake. A drunken mistake that happened one night with a house-maid and is a blight to his family name." He explained, Sirius's eyes widened and something inside of him that he didn't even know existed broke like a shattered mirror. Everything he knew and had come to love was a lie. His family, his nobility, everything that he had come to accept had been a lie._

_"But we won't kill him, because we foster the hope that he'll join our ranks, fellow Death Eaters!" A cheering broke out and the ringmaster came closer to him with the brand held aloft._

_"Get away from me! Get awa-ah!" He screamed when the brand made contact with the skin on his middle back._

_"S-Stop it-gah!" He yelled again as the man pressed the brand harder against his tender skin._

_Laughter erupted from the crowd and finally Sirius was given a reprieve from the searing pain of the brand._

_"...Help...Somebody..." Sirius coughed out as he was dropped onto the ground by the attendants._  
_"Watch it!" The ringmaster snarled at them and he was picked back up and placed on the altar once again."It breaks my heart to think that our circus has come to an end!" The ringmaster said and clasped his hands on his chest._  
_"But, now it's time for the highest bidder to claim their prize!" A man stood up from the audience and made his way up to the stage, taking care to avoid the gore and carnage that littered the stage._

_Sirius noted that he was wearing a masquerade mask that covered most of his face. He could just imagine all the horrible things that would come to him at the hands of this man. He whimpered pathetically as he was handed off to the masked man._

_"Have fun with him! You've earned it!" The Ringmaster called out as Sirius and the masked man retreated into an empty room of the Riddle Mansion._

_"Please...Kill me...I don't...Want to live...anymore." Sirius cried out as he was laid gently on the bed. He didn't want this, he couldn't take what was going to happen to him next._  
_The man slowly pulled back his mask and Sirius was shocked to see the guilty face of his uncle Alphard."U-Uncle...? W-Why? WHY?!" Sirius screamed out and tried to claw him, but his uncle made no attempt to grab him or shut him up._

_"S-Sirius...I'm so sorry, so very sorry!" Alphard began to cry guilt ridden tears as he sat heavily on the edge of the bed._

_"I can't believe this." Alphard sighed._  
_"Y-you aren't going t-to r-rape me?" Sirius questioned as he stopped clawing. Alphard shook his head._  
_"I came here by invitation from a friend...I thought it would be entertainment from a local circus troupe, but I was sorely mistaken..." He shivered._

_"We have to get you out of here, Sirius...Before they try to hurt you again!" Sirius nodded and let himself be wrapped up in a blanket. Alphard took his scarred nephew and blended in with the people whom were leaving the mansion, talking avidly about the entertainment._

_Sirius did not move a muscle until he was safely in his uncle's carriage. The ride to Alphard's estate was dead silent. Sirius was reflecting on his experiences and Alphard was trying to think of a way to go about this whole situation._

_"That man..." Sirius finally broke the silence with a tentative question._  
_"Yes?" Alphard prompted._  
_"Was what he said...True?" Alphard did not speak for a few minutes, that alone was enough to confirm that what the man said was true. Sirius was a mistake._

_Sirius went silent once again, soon they had reached Alphard's estate and he was treated to a hot meal, a bath, and nice warm bed to sleep in._

_A couple of weeks after the incident, Sirius was once again his chipper self. However, he was still plagued by terrifying nightmares that would not let him forget those who had lost their lives in that mansion of death. Alphard acted like a father and had stayed up with his nephew, repeating comforting words until Sirius either fell back asleep or the sun would rise before he could._

_A month after what had happened, Sirius was playing in Uncle Alphard's backyard happily. He was pretending to be a traveler in a foreign land that his uncle talked about fondly, he called it India. Though after a few hours of playing, Sirius went inside to get a drink of water, but his uncle yelling stopped him in his tracks._

_"No! I refuse to hand over Sirius to that man! He'll just send him back!" Alphard yelled._  
_"He is not your son, Alphard. Mr. Black expects his son to be on the train back to London by Friday or else he'll take legal action against you." A formal man said as he was packing up his suitcase._

_"I wish he was my son! The poor boy's been through enough without my brother abusing him!" Alphard huffed as the man left._

_"Uncle..?" Alphard glanced at him and sighed, beckoning his nephew towards him._  
_"Sirius, you're a big boy, right?" Alphard asked him, Sirius nodded._  
_"Your father wants you to go back home," Sirius paled and shook his head._  
_"No! I don't want to! This is my home! Not there!" Sirius cried out and latched onto his uncle._

_"It'll be alright Sirius, just be a big boy for your Uncle okay?" Sirius nodded tearfully._  
_"Besides, you'll be staying for just a day and then you're off to school." Alphard amended, Sirius nodded furiously. He had forgotten about school and he was glad that he could go back._  
_"Good boy, now you should pack tomorrow."_  
_  
_XxX

A/N: This wasn't supposed to be like 8 pages DX seeing as I got carried away with everything (I do that A LOT) the next will probably be longer as well and please don't expect it until...A little while...I have some other things I wanna post up (well, just one as far as I know, maybe two) and I have a lot planned for this story (and maybe another one to come in the distant future XD) Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this story thus far! I'm actually embarrassingly proud of this story and compared to the other ones from...Not so much a long time ago like Gethsemane (that story makes me wanna claw my eyes out DX)


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